


Smoothing Over The Cracks

by happydaygirl



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Addiction, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Childhood, Drama, Humour, M/M, Not Incest, Romantic Comedy, Single Parents
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-31
Updated: 2014-11-03
Packaged: 2018-02-15 14:26:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 23,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2232366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/happydaygirl/pseuds/happydaygirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU- Kili is a single parent who has moved to a new town with his young son after a bitter breakup; after a mishap at a cafe he's rescued by Fili, another single dad with a painful past. As their children start to become friends they spend more and more time together, sharing in the good -and sometimes bad- aspects of parenthood, but when someone from Kili's past comes back to haunt him, it threatens to tear apart their new-found relationship for good.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first ever AU! I'm a bit nervous about posting it, but I hope you guys like it, like I said the boys aren't related so technically it's not durincest- This first chapter is a little short, but the others I have written are quite long!

Kili sat back, his head sinking into the worn leather of his second hand sofa, and closed his eyes. Peace at last. The silence reverberated around the room, almost hurting his ears as he sat down for the first time all day. He moved his feet to get comfortable, his shoes knocking onto the stack of picture books on the floor. Leaning downwards he scooped the first one up and turned the glossy cover over, smiling as the picture of the Gruffalo loomed up at him, peeking out from behind a tree. He put it on the arm of the sofa and sat back again, looking up at the ceiling as evening drew in around him. If he was lucky he’d just be able to catch the last of the film he had wanted to watch on TV, but he knew that as soon as he made any noise he’d awaken the little monster sleeping upstairs. Well, he hoped he was sleeping, anyway- Frerin was finding it hard to settle since the move, and this was the first night in the two weeks since that he’d actually let Kili leave his room without screaming the place down. He just needed time, he figured, to settle in properly and get used to the new sounds around him.  
He resigned himself to a night of reading instead, and perhaps editing the next chapter of his novel- not like it was going anywhere, if he was honest. Standing up to walk across the kitchen to make himself some tea, he looked across at the darkening window; at the row of houses and flats outside- this new town was certainly different. Everything seemed too close together, too compact, compared with his old town of Berriston; the town bordered the countryside, and the houses were dotted around the main road instead of all packed in together like this. The flat was nice though, he mused as he flicked on the kettle in the small kitchen, unhooking a chipped blue mug from the holder. Just what they needed after everything that had happened, a fresh start.  
‘Daddy?’ the noise came from the doorway- Kili turned and saw his son wiping bleary eyes.  
‘Hey buddy, I thought you were asleep?’ he said, coming over and squatting next to Frerin as the little boy shook his head. ‘I was but I heard a noise.’  
‘What kind of noise?’ Kili asked, trying not to smile- this was one of Frerin’s favourite excuses for not sleeping in his room lately.  
‘I think it’s a monster,’ he said, eyes wide. ‘A big one.’  
‘A big one?’ Kili echoed, eyes even wider. ‘Well, we’ll just have to see about that, won’t we?’ he held out his hand and let Frerin catch hold, the little boy squeezing like his little life depended on it. He ruffled his brown hair as he stood, before they both walked out of the kitchen, past Kili’s room and into Frerin’s.  
‘Right….you get back into bed, and Daddy will go on a monster hunt, sound good?’ he asked, rubbing his son’s back.  
‘Like a bear hunt?’ Frerin said in a high voice as he jumped back into his bed and pulled the covers around him.  
‘Yep, like a bear hunt- let’s see if I can catch a really big one!’ Kili replied, smiling across at his son.  
He walked over to the window sill and picked up the children’s tennis racket- wielding it like a sword he began to do a sweep of the room, looking carefully behind the door and in the cupboards muttering ‘Here monster monster monster…..come out, come out wherever you are….’ as Frerin burst into giggles. The final spot to check was under the bed- Kili knelt down and peered under into the darkness for a while, making sure he had a really good look, before coming back up and shaking his head- ‘I think you’re ok- I scared him off for you! He won’t be coming back here again!’  
‘What was it Daddy?’ Frerin breathed, cuddling up to Kili as he sat on the bed next to his son. ‘You really want to know?’ Kili whispered, coming closer.  
‘Yeah!’ Frerin said, nodding his head, hair getting into his eyes.  
‘You really want to know?’  
‘Yeah! What was it!’  
‘It was….a dragon!’  
‘A dragon? They’re not scary!’ He shrieked, shaking his head and laughing.  
‘They’re not?’ Kili muttered, eyes wide as he leaned backwards. ‘I’m glad you’re not scared, because I am!’ Frerin stopped at this, and eyed his father suspiciously.  
‘Are you really scared, Daddy?’ he asked, peering up at him with orb like eyes.  
‘A bit, I suppose….’ Kili replied, chuckling under his breath as Frerin hugged him tight. ‘I won’t let the dragon get you….’ He muttered from under his arm. He felt a surge of love for his own little monster and hugged him tighter, inhaling his scent. ‘Thanks little man,’ he whispered, before kissing the top of his head and smoothing his hair down. ‘Bed time now, ok?’ he finished.  
Frerin looked up and nodded resolutely, lying down onto his pillow. ‘Can you stay with me?’  
‘Not tonight, buddy- let’s see if you can do this by yourself like a big boy.’  
‘No Daddy, I want you to stay with me till I fall asleep!’ he said, pushing his top lip out in a pout.  
‘Come on Frerin, I’ll be right down the hallway- I’ll come and check on you in a minute ok?’  
‘Noooo…..’  
Kili sighed from the doorway, knowing this exchange would only go one way- he was well and truly wrapped around his son’s finger. ‘Five minutes, then Daddy’s got some work to do, alright?’  
‘Yeah!’ Frerin giggled, scooching up so Kili could lay next to him. Kili rolled his eyes as he walked closer, bending down to flick on the special nightlight he had bought Frerin on his first night- stars erupted onto the ceiling, moving in lazy circles of yellow light and shadow.  
He sat on the bed and lay back, tucking himself and Frerin in as well. ‘Five minutes though…’ he reminded the little boy as he snuggled against him, thumb in his mouth- he hooked it away, pulling his favourite blanket into his hand instead; he didn’t like him to suck his thumb, knowing how much orthodontic work he had had to endure in his youth because of his own childhood habit.  
He looked around the room as Frerin settled, noting with a small pang how sparse it actually was; he needed to do some shopping. Painting the rooms was high on the agenda, but he knew he’d get more on the floor than the walls with Frerin running around- he would wait till he was enrolled in some sort of nursery or club, if he could find a decent one. He also needed to get back to work, but that should be easy enough- a quick call to Edward, his agent, and contracts would hopefully come back. Being an editor for eight years with the same company had its perks.  
He settled down, noting with relief that Frerin’s breathing had started to even out, and the cute little nasally snores were starting to appear, heralding deep sleep. He felt his own eyes grow heavy, and soon he too was sleeping, the two of them snuggled together in the small wooden bed, dead to the world till the morning came.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kili is forgetful, some old ladies coo over two little children, and Fili is a knight in shining armour....

‘Frerin, come on- we’ve got to go the shops!’ Kili called from his room, pulling on some jeans and a red shirt. It was around 10 am and Kili had realised too late than he had forgotten to buy anything decent for breakfast. Toast was ok, but he was sure Frerin was tiring of buttered toast just as much as he was- it was time to get some proper food.  
‘I’m hungry Daddy…’ the five year old muttered as he traipsed into the room, tugging on a blue jumper.  
‘I know, I’m sorry.’ Kili bent down and helped him sort out his collar before hugging him. ‘Daddy forgot to get breakfast.’ He said apologetically.  
‘Silly Daddy!’ was his reply, which made him snort out loud. He nodded at the sentiment, helping Frerin put on his shoes and coat before searching for his own jacket.  
Grabbing his keys from the small bowl beside the door he opened it, the very Saturday morning smell hitting him- the smell of bacon, fresh mud and coffee. ‘Let’s go get some food, eh?’ he said, holding out his hand for Frerin to hold onto.  
After he shut the door they walked down the road- the only advantage to moving here was the fact that they were literally on the high street, Kili thought to himself as they waited at the traffic lights.  
‘Remember to wait till you hear the noise and see the green man, yeah?’ he reminded Frerin as they crossed- it was never too early to teach kids proper road safety.  
‘Right, Frer….’ He muttered, using the nickname he had made up- he wasn’t sure if it entirely fit his son, but he thought he’d try it out. ‘….what do you fancy?’ he liked to let his son choose every now and again, just to spice up the banality of breakfast. He figured the least he could do was offer him breakfast out this morning, instead of going to the shop and coming back to the flat to make it.  
‘Ummmm…..chips!’ Frerin shouted from beside him, grinning from ear to ear as he looked up.  
‘…chips?’ Kili repeated, frowning. ‘Anything else?’  
‘Errrrr…….beans on toast!’  
‘Now I can do that!’ Kili nodded, smiling down at Frerin as he whooped at the prospect of beans on toast. He loved him so much.  
‘Let’s see….ah, I spy a café over there….’ He pointed at a green painted building near a pharmacy. They stepped over the threshold to the sounds of Classic FM, Kili’s least favourite music station. But Frerin had wanted beans on toast, and he didn’t want to be responsible for the inevitable meltdown if he walked them back out now.  
Frerin let go of his hand as soon as they stepped inside and darted for a seat, causing two old ladies to start cooing over him as he sat at a table and waved at him to let him know where he was. ‘Coming!’ Kili grinned, shaking his head. He passed the ladies, heart swelling with smug pride as he heard them whispering at how cute Frerin was and to ‘bless his little heart.’  
He sat in the seat next to him, the weird feeling plastic covering of the seats sticking in his legs. ‘Morning guys!’ a woman with curly blonde hair smiled at them, pen and pad ready. ‘Morning!’ Kili replied, nodding to her as Frerin waved.  
‘What can I get for you this morning?’ she said lightly, looking first at Frerin, who looked quite shocked at being addressed in person. ‘Beans on toast!’ he said after a reassuring nod from Kili. ‘What would you like to drink?’ the lady asked, smiling down at him.  
‘Tea!’ He said, looking confidently at his father, as the lady looked at him with an eyebrow quirked.  
‘He means warm milk- I get him one when I have tea sometimes, and I call it tea…’ Kili explained, chuckling.  
‘Oh I see- well, beans on toast and some tea for you!’ she grinned, scribbling on her pad. She turned to Kili, who looked up from the menu he was reading.  
‘What can I get for Daddy, then?’ she asked with a cheeky smile- Kili chuckled at that, before he looked at her uniform and noticed the name badge read “Sally”.  
‘Well, Sally, I’ll have the full English- no mushrooms though, please….’ He muttered, waiting as she wrote. ‘And I think I’ll break with tradition and have coffee, white and two sugars.’ He finished, smiling up at her and handing her back the menu.  
‘Right away, Mr….’ she trailed off.  
‘Durin.’ Kili replied, holding out a hand. ‘Kili Durin.’  
‘Mr Durin….I’ll be right back with your drinks.’ She smiled, shaking his hand before walking back to the kitchen, ripping the paper from her pad as she went.  
‘Here you go…’ he muttered to Frerin as the little boy squirmed in the firm seat. He pulled a colouring book and a small box of pencils from his backpack and placed them on the table; he knew how restless Frerin could become waiting in the same place for a long time.  
He sat back as Frerin started to get stuck into his colouring, playing with the paper napkins as they waited for their breakfast. The café was unusually empty for a Saturday morning, he mused- he’d expected it to be fuller than this, given it was the weekend. The door suddenly opened with a jingle of a bell as a man walked in, followed by a sobbing little girl.  
‘Molly, please- Daddy said he’d get you the doll later….’ He heard him say in an exasperated voice, shaking his head as he waited for the girl to catch up. ‘The shop isn’t even open yet!’ he added, rolling his eyes, pushing a strand of blond hair from his face.  
‘Please Daddy!’ she shrieked, eyes wet after what had probably been a long tantrum.  
‘I said I would, but later!’ the man said, voice rising as frustration creeped in- Kili stifled a chuckle, knowing the feeling only too well.  
He held out a hand, and the little girl latched on, sucking on two fingers as she wiped her face with the other hand- the man looked around, colour rising in his cheeks as he saw that nearly everyone was looking in their direction. ‘Do you want a strawberry milkshake, sweetheart?’ he said, squatting down and wiping hair from his daughter’s face. She nodded, hiccupping a little as the man stood up and walked over to a table near Kili and Frerin, next to the two old ladies, who, despite the mini meltdown, were looking at the little girl and cooing at her too.  
The two men nodded to each other, giving each other a look that only fellow parents can give, that kind of ‘kids- who’d have them?’ look.  
Kili chuckled, shaking his head a little before a small hand pulled him the side; he grinned and bent over Frerin’s latest “masterpiece”, which consisted of an elephant coloured entirely in purple.  
Moments later their drinks arrived, and the two of them sat in silence, supping on their respective beverages. Sighing contently at the feeling of welcome caffeine, Kili positioned their knives and forks on the table in preparation for the breakfasts, making a mental list of the food and things he’d need to buy at the supermarket once they’d done. Some fruit would be nice- he doubted whether Frerin even remembered what an apple even looked like.  
Their food arrived not long after their drinks, and after Kili had finished cutting up Frerin’s beans on toast and got stuck into his own breakfast, the little girl and her father had been served too- he smiled as he saw they each had a strawberry milkshake, not just Molly.  
He noticed the man looking at their direction, before he pointed at the colouring book Frerin had propped up by the salt and vinegar holders as he ravaged his beans on toast. ‘Good idea!’ he mouthed, giving Kili a thumbs up and grinning. Kili chuckled, nodding his head and giving a little bow, winking at him.  
Spearing some bacon on his fork he looked down as Frerin ate, using the napkin to clean the table after he pushed a lump of soggy bread onto it, smearing tomato sauce on the white surface.  
After they had both finished he stacked their plates and held a hand aloft to signal to Sally that he was ready to pay- the lady walked over, smiling down at Frerin as he proudly showed her his coloured in picture of a little girl on the beach; everything, even the sea was coloured in red, but she nodded enthusiastically nonetheless, ruffling his hair and making him chuckle.  
‘He’s just so cute!’ she said to Kili, who grinned.  
‘You wouldn’t say that if you had to live with him!’ he teased, grinning as Sally pushed his shoulder, before she handed him the bill, smiling softly.  
‘Do you take card or cash?’ he asked lightly, winking at her. ‘Because I’m all out of notes!’  
‘Ah.’ Sally said, pursing her lips and putting a hand to her hips. ‘Are you joking or being serious?’  
Kili showed her his empty wallet- he had forgotten to get money out, and he knew the nearest cash point was about a ten minute walk. ‘Oops.’  
‘Oops indeed.’ Sally muttered, before giving him a small smile. ‘You have to be difficult, don’t you?’ she teased, rolling her eyes. ‘Just my luck, too.’  
‘Oh?’  
‘I go home in an hour- now you’ve made it difficult!’  
‘Sorry about that,’ Kili muttered, chewing his lip. ‘Why don’t you take card?’  
‘We usually do, but our machine is on the blink.’ Sally explained, sighing.  
‘Great….’ Kili muttered, before looking down at Frerin and shrugging. ‘Looks like I’m washing up, and you can do the drying and putting away, deal?’ he said, laughing as Frerin shook his head fervently.  
‘Having problems?’ a voice came from behind them- Kili turned to see the blond haired man standing beside him, concerned look in his cool blue eyes.  
‘Just some money worries, its ok.’ Kili shrugged, smiling over at him. He turned back to Sally. ‘What if I walk to the cashpoint and get the money, and come back?’  
‘Sorry, we have a policy that we don’t let a customer leave without paying.’ She replied.  
‘Like a petrol station?’ the blond haired man said, smiling.  
‘Sort of, yeah.’ Sally nodded, smile on her lips.  
‘What are you going to do then, arrest me for not paying for beans on toast and some eggs and bacon?’ Kili muttered, slight irritation rising.  
‘Well….’ Sally started, but the man cut across her, getting out his own wallet.  
‘Tell you what-‘he muttered, pulling out a twenty pound note and handing it to her, ignoring Kili’s protests. ‘- you take that, and you can pay me back later? He said, smiling from Kili to Sally.  
‘I couldn’t let you-‘  
‘I have though.’  
‘But…’  
‘But nothing- relax, I’m not going to break your kneecaps for it!’ he chuckled, waving at Frerin, who hid behind Kili’s arm. As Sally walked off to put the money in the till, he held out a hand. ‘Benjamin Oakenshield, at your service!’ he introduced himself. ‘But my friends call me Fili most of the time.’  
Kili shook the proffered hand, smiling. ‘Kili Durin.’ He replied.  
‘Huh, never knew there was someone with a name that rhymed with mine!’ Fili chuckled, shaking his head. ‘Well, apart from Billy, but then it’s supposed to be William, isn’t it?’ Kili wasn’t really sure whether the question was rhetorical, so settled for a nod.  
‘It is an unusual name, I guess.’ He said, sitting down and packing away Frerin’s book and pencils.  
‘I suppose it is,’ Fili agreed, before he looked towards his own daughter, who had just finished the last of her milkshake. ‘See you around, maybe?’ he asked, quirking an eyebrow at Kili, who nodded, shrugging. ‘Probably, it’s a small enough place here I see.’  
‘Oh, are you new? I’ll have to take you and your son on a grand tour then, show you the magnificent sights!’ Fili grinned, shaking his head. ‘It’s a pit really, but its home.’ He grinned, before he waved at them both as he walked over to his daughter. ‘See you around Kili, and….’  
‘Frerin.’  
‘Wow, cool name!’ he grinned, waving goodbye to Frerin, who shyly waved back. Fili motioned his daughter. ‘This is Molly- wave bye bye Molly!’ he said, snorting as Molly shook her head and hid behind him instead. ‘See you guys later, I’m off to see a man about a doll.’ And with that he and his daughter was gone, out of the shop and down the street, leaving the café a lot quieter.  
‘Come on then trouble, let’s go get some grub!’ Kili grinned, walking with Frerin out of the shop, and down towards the large TESCO next to the library.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Later that evening, after their surprisingly tasty and non-burnt dinner of pasta and meatballs, Kili gave Frerin a bath and tucked him into his bed, this time leaving him in his room instead of joining him for cuddles as usual- Frerin had told him he could do it himself, and who was Kili to argue? So instead he had left his door a little ajar and padded into the living room, switching on the TV before settling down with some tea. He blew it to cool it down while he watched some daft programme about pampered puppies before the late news came on, with their usual spew of crime, war and misery- he switched it off after a while, rolling his eyes. The world was a damn cruel place. He gave a start as his mobile rang (he still hadn’t got his landline sorted, owing to troubles with the cables for some reason). He looked at the caller ID, frowning a little as he saw it was his Father. It wasn’t like him to call, especially at this time of night and to his mobile. ‘Hello Dad,’ he said as he answered, taking a gulp of tea. ‘Evening Son, I was just calling to see how you are, seeing as you haven’t bothered to let me know yourself.’ His father’s gruff tones answered, causing Kili to smile.  
‘Yeah, sorry, been a bit busy…’ he replied.  
‘Well, you could have called.’  
‘I know, I should have- didn’t think….’  
‘I understand, it’s been hard- just call me next time you get a minute, I like to know how my Grandson is, you know that.’  
‘Frer’s fine Dad, he just needs some time to settle-‘  
‘Frer? Whose Frer?’ his Dad’s tone turned sharp.  
‘Um, Frerin…’ Kili muttered, sensing trouble.  
‘His name is Frerin, not Frer- I didn’t give you permission to use your Uncle’s name for you to bastardise it!’  
‘Sorry, I was just messing with a nickname, that’s all,’ Kili reassured him, ‘didn’t even like it anyway….’ He could have used the name anyway, his Dad’s permission or not- not like he’d ever say it to his face….  
‘Well good, don’t let me hear you say it again,’ was his answer, but his Dad’s voice soon softened again. ‘Is he sleeping well?’  
‘Not really, but he’s getting there.’ Kili replied.  
‘I’ll have to come visit you sometime, get out of this place…’  
‘I thought you loved Berriston?’ Kili teased, knowing full well how much Thorin hated the place, given he had had to move there to appease his new wife before he left.  
‘Well, I would have if you hadn’t moved away the second I moved there- how could you leave me with these people?’ his Dad replied, the welcome glint of sarcasm making Kili snort.  
‘Just your kind of people, aren’t they?’  
‘Say that again and I won’t just be visiting, I’ll be moving in with you!’ his Dad laughed. Kili grinned, shaking his head. Looking at the clock he noticed it was now near 11. ‘Listen Dad, I’ve got to go- busy day tomorrow going to the office and trying to find a place at a nursery or something for Frerin….when are you thinking of coming over?’  
‘Good idea,’ Thorin said, voice turning serious. ‘Getting back in the saddle is good, it’ll be good for you to start doing things again after…’ his voice trailed off, before he cleared his throat.  
Kili nodded into the phone, lips pursed into a thin line as his father continued. ‘Anyway- I was thinking this weekend, if it’s not too much trouble for you? I’ve got some things for Frerin and I’m sure I could do some babysitting if you’ve got things to do?’  
‘That sounds great actually- phone me before you arrive and I can get things sorted, alright?’  
‘Yes, seeing as you probably won’t be doing any more phoning. This Saturday? Till Monday morning? She won’t be coming.’ He added tersely, putting great emphasis on the word she. ‘She’s got work.’  
‘Wow Dad, don’t let poor Mandy hear you talk about her like that!’ Kili teased; he oddly loved the love/hate relationship his Dad and Mandy had- they’d been together for years, and despite all the bickering he knew they loved each other.  
‘Mandy can just kiss my arse if she wants to-‘  
‘Ok…..right, well, cheers for that lovely image Dad…..’ Kili muttered, rolling his eyes.  
‘Well, what more can I say? Anyway- see you next week then?  
‘Yeah, looking forward to it!’ Kili said, before the two of them finally said their goodbyes. He pressed the off button on his phone feeling lighter and happier than he had in weeks.  
Rubbing his eyes he thought with a jolt that Frerin hadn’t made a noise in hours- getting up he quietly made his way to his room, opening the door as gently as he could (the door had an annoying squeak). The chink of light from the hall illuminated his son’s sleeping face, one cheek buried in his pillow as his hands clutched Mr Chips, his big brown cuddly dog.  
Kili leaned against the doorframe, just watching him sleep. ‘Night night little man…’ he whispered, before stepping backwards and shutting the door with a snap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, please comment your thoughts! Next chapter up soon!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kili has a meeting with his boss, but overlooks vital childcare arrangements- cue another timely rescue from a certain blue eyed stranger! As Fili saves him from another disaster, Kili learns a tragic fact of his life...

Kili woke up next morning to find a mini Spiderman jumping up and down on his bed, before the little figure dived under the covers and snuggled up next to him, giggling.  
‘Morning Spiderman!’ Kili yawned, looking over to his bedside clock- not too bad, only 8 O’clock. He feigned looking around the room intently, craning his neck out of the door and down the corridor, before turning back to the person in the bed next to him, a confused look on his face. ‘I don’t suppose you’ve seen my son? He’s normally awake at this time…’  
‘No….’ Frerin giggled, stifling a grin under his little hand. ‘He’s gone away!’  
‘Gone away?’ Kili repeated, a shocked look on his face. ‘Oh no, that’s terrible!’ he jumped from the bed, rearranging his baggy black shirt he coupled with his tracksuit bottoms, before rushing out the door to a soundtrack of laughter from the bed.  
‘No…’ he called, padding into Frerin’s room with a smile on his own face. ‘He’s not here Spiderman! What should we do?’ He quickly put some clothes out for him on his bed, which saved the arguments later.  
The barked laughter coming from his room made him laugh out loud, and he came back to his room to see Frerin taking off his Spiderman mask, his mega watt grin now plainly visible. ‘Frerin!’ Kili cried in surprise, running over to him and hugging the little boy, swinging him off his feet and into his arms. ‘Where were you? I was so worried about you!’  
‘I was here all this time Daddy!’ Frerin shrieked, shaking his head at Kili as he gave a big sigh of relief.  
‘Really?’ Kili said, looking sceptically at his son. ‘Spiderman said you had gone away,’  
‘I’m Spiderman Daddy!’ Frerin yelled, laughing as Kili took a step back, eyes wide. ‘NO!’ he breathed, shaking his head, before leaning in close.  
‘Does Spiderman want any breakfast, by any chance?’ he said, smiling as Frerin nodded his head at him. ‘I wonder, does Spiderman like…toast?’  
Frerin shook his head. ‘Nope.’  
‘Oh,’ Kili replied, thinking hard. ‘How about jammy toast with some tea?’ he said, watching as Frerin seemed to go into some sort of inner battle with himself. ‘You can have some of Daddy’s marmalade as well, if you want?’ he added, knowing this would sweeten the deal- Frerin loved his marmalade.  
‘Yes please!’ the little boy said, hugging Kili as he carried him toward the kitchen. ‘Right, sir- if you’d like to take a seat, your drink should be with you soon!’ he chuckled, depositing Frerin on a chair at their wooden table. It was only small, but once he had more money coming in Kili was going to upgrade to a better one.  
He flicked the kettle on to make himself some tea of his own before pouring some milk into a mug for Frerin- he stuck it in the microwave for forty seconds before taking it out again and letting it sit whilst he finished his tea. After popping some toast into the toaster he walked back around, both mugs in hand.  
‘Here’s your tea- it might be a bit hot still, so remember to blow it!’  
‘Ok Daddy…’ Frerin nodded, puffing on the mug a couple of times before tentatively taking a sip.  
‘Good?’  
‘Yes!’  
‘That’s what I like to hear!’ Kili smiled, ruffling his son’s hair as the toaster popped up. ‘Right….two sets of jammy toast coming right up!’  
As he busied himself with their breakfast he looked out of the small window to his side- it looked like it was shaping up to be a pretty nice day again. He sighed as he saw the note he’d pinned to the fridge- Meet Ed. Ed was, ironically enough, the name of his boss in the editing business he worked for. He said he’d meet him in an office block at around twelve to discuss his future and any potential clients. He was quite hopeful that it meant he’d have his own job back, and not before time. He tried to stop himself thinking back to why he’d had to leave, but it was hard to stop himself going back there. Leaving his job, at the time, seemed to be the best action to take- but it had cost him dear, and not just financially.  
‘Toast Daddy!’ Frerin’s voice cut into his thoughts.  
‘Coming!’ he called, shaking his head at himself. He’d cross that bridge when he came to it, and not before- god knows he was dreading it as it was.  
He picked up the two plates and scooted over to the table, placing them down and sitting next to his son. ‘Eat up, we’ve got a big day ahead of us!’ he said, wolfing down a slice. Frerin cocked his head at him as he munched on a corner of his toast. ‘Why?’ he asked. Kili swallowed his mouthful and smiled over at him gently. ‘Daddy’s got to go to work for a bit, ok?’ he normally worked from home- which he hoped was going to be the arrangement this time, too- so it was the first time he had had to leave Frerin to go to the office.  
‘Can I come?’ Frerin asked, eyes lighting up. ‘I’ll put my nice shirt with the buttons on!’  
‘Not this time, sweetheart… Daddy has to go and see his boss,’ he said, shaking his head gently, before pushing Frerin’s toast on his plate closer to his little hand. ‘But I’ve found a nice indoor play area that you can play in while I’m gone! There’ll be lots of other little boys and girls there for you to play with, sound fun?’ He’d spent last night after saying goodnight to Frerin surfing the web to find somewhere to put him for the afternoon…the only other option was a babysitter, and seeing as he didn’t really know anyone in this area very well yet, that was out of the question.  
‘No.’ Frerin pouted, crossing his little arms. ‘Want to go with you!’  
‘Not this time, I’m sorry little man…’ Kili sighed, drinking the last of his coffee. ‘Can you eat your toast please, we have to get ready.’  
‘I want to go with you!’ Frerin cried, eyes narrowed. Kili could see a tantrum coming, so he quickly gave Frerin a kiss and hugged him tight. ‘I saw a sign for a duck pond yesterday,’ he said, once again pushing the toast towards his hand. He knew Frerin loved ducks (and feeding them whole loaves of bread at a time). ‘We can go and see them afterwards if you’re a good boy?’  
Frerin looked up at him, little eyes searching his own as his lips quivered a little. Finally the smile was back, and he hugged Kili tight, nodding his head into his shoulder. ‘Ok Daddy….’ he said after a while, before sitting up straighter and finishing his toast.  
‘Good boy...’ Kili said, happy he’d avoided a very small catastrophe.  
‘Right,’ he muttered after Frerin had finished slurping his tea at last. ‘You wanna help Daddy pick out a nice suit?’ he asked, grinning as Frerin nodded and hopped down.  
They walked to his bedroom, and to the small wooden wardrobe where Kili kept his nicer stuff; the everyday clothes were still in his suitcase by his bed. He pulled out a charcoal grey suit with matching waistcoat, a black pinstriped suit and finally a black suite with a red tie- Thorin always said he looked like he was going to a wedding (or a funeral) when he wore that set.  
‘Well?’ he asked the little boy after he laid them out on his bed. ‘Which one do you think I should wear?’  
‘Hmmm….’ Frerin said, a finger on his lips as he surveyed the clothing. Kili stepped back and waited, a smile dancing on his lips- finally his little hand shot out, slapping onto the charcoal grey suit. ‘Good choice!’ Kili grinned, ruffling his hair. He looked at his watch- it was still a while before his meeting, but he wanted to walk to the indoor play centre a bit slower today, to take in some of the sights of the town. ‘Ok then….you go and watch some TV, and I’ll get dressed,’ he said, looking down at his son.  
‘Ok Daddy!’ Frerin nodded, before walking out the room and down the corridor- Kili heard the whoosh of dispersed air from the sofa as he plonked himself down on it, before the sounds of children’s television wafted into the room. He got dressed as quickly as he could, looking himself up and down in the mirror; he’d lost weight, he mused. He looked at himself to the side, buttoning up his waistcoat as he went. This would have to do. He pulled on some of his best black leather shoes (Frerin liked to wear them sometimes because he said they were ‘pointy’.) Finally he grabbed his bag with his papers and forms in and walked out the door, nerves jingling. He pushed them away, shaking his head; he’d known Ed for years, since they’d met at university…everything would be ok.  
‘You ready to go?’ he called as he stepped into the hallway to grab his keys. The TV turned off and Frerin bounded into the room before he stopped, apparently dumbstruck. ‘What?’ Kili asked, rubbing his face. ‘Have I got jam on my cheeks?’  
‘No!’ Frerin giggled, shaking his head. ‘You look nice, Daddy.’ He added, smiling up at him in the way that always melted Kili’s heart.  
‘Aww, thanks buddy!’ He said, eyes misting a bit despite himself- he always got emotional when he was stressed. He bent down and gave Frerin a one armed hug, rubbing his back. ‘That’s such a nice thing to say…’  
‘You’re welcome!’ came his reply, before Frerin bounded off again to fetch his shoes. Kili watched him go, shaking his head. Boy did he love that kid.  
Soon enough they were ready to go, and they stepped outside into the sunshine, and made their way down the road in the direction of the play area.  
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

‘I’m sorry Sir, that’s our policy.’ The woman said, shaking her blonde hair at him from the other side of the desk.  
‘But why? It’s just for an hour, maybe an hour and a half tops….I’ll be coming back for him, for christ’s sake!’ Kili tried to remain calm, but he was acutely aware of the time now rapidly ticking away. They’d got to the indoor soft play area in plenty of time, but he’d apparently overlooked the fact that parent’s had to stay and watch over their kids as they played, and not leave them there whilst they had other things to do.  
‘Parents need to stay to ensure the safety of their children, it’s just the policy.’ She repeated, looking over his shoulder at the increasing line of children and parents behind him.  
‘I understand that, I should have checked- but I have an important business meeting that I can’t take my son to….just for a while, please?’ he said, shaking his head as he was forced to beg.  
‘I’m sorry sir, it-‘  
‘If you say “its policy” one more time, so help me I’ll-‘  
‘Problem?’ a smooth voice cut into the verbatim. Kili looked round to see the guy from the Café standing behind him, his daughter at his side. Fili looked to the lady behind the counter, smiling warmly at her. ‘What seems to be the problem?’ he asked again, blue eyes twinkling.  
‘Nothing that concerns you, sir,’ the lady replied, smiling back at him.  
‘Well, it is if this guy-‘he thumbed Kili, turning his head and winking at him, ‘-is holding up the line….these kids are waiting to play!’  
‘I’m sorry for the holdup, sir, but-‘  
‘Look, he’s my next door neighbour, just moved here….how about you sign me up as his kid’s adult? I know them well enough.’ He said, nodding at her.  
‘That’s not policy either, sir-‘  
‘I understand that…’ he peered at her name badge. ‘Susie, but he’s in a bit of a hurry, and I promise I won’t kidnap the kid, ok?’ he added, smiling from Kili to the lady.  
The lady narrowed her eyes playfully at him. ‘Come on,’ Fili said, giving her another grin. ‘How many times have I been here with Molly? You guys all know me, you can trust me with another child for an hour!’ he looked over at Kili, who was now smiling despite himself. ‘You can, y’know!’ he chuckled, before looking over at Susie again. ‘Just this once? He knows now, he won’t make the mistake again.’  
‘Alright- an hour and a half maximum!’ she said to Kili, who nodded thankfully at her. ‘How much?’ he asked.  
‘Nah, I’ll get this- you won’t be here anyway…take Molly and…and…’  
‘Frerin.’  
‘Frerin, that’s it! Take them over to the ball pit and I’ll meet you guys there.’ Fili said, smiling at him. Kili mused that this guy wasn’t used to be told “no” too much, so he nodded and walked over to the ball pit, both kids in tow.  
Molly and Frerin were both starting to climb into the ball pit when Fili came back, smiling. ‘All done!’ he said, giving Kili his ticket.  
‘You didn’t have to do that…again.’ He said, feeling a bit strange, like he was suddenly in this guy’s debt.  
‘Don’t worry about it- you can just give me it back when you pay for the breakfast!’ Fili said, putting a hand on his shoulder.  
‘Oh yeah, speaking of that…’ Kili got his wallet out and pulled the twenty out of it, followed by a five pound note for the ticket. ‘All debts settled.’ He said, smiling at him.  
‘Well, I wasn’t going to press, seeing as I’ve misjudged you!’  
‘How do you mean?’  
‘Come on, what are you? Lawyer? Detective? Gangster?’ Fili asked, motioning his sharp suit.  
‘Editor.’ Kili grinned. Fili snorted and tried to cover it, but Kili waved it away. ‘I wish I was one of those things though- it would sort my money issues out no problem.’  
‘Oh, like that is it?’ Fili said, craning an eyebrow.  
‘Yeah…’ Kili sighed, before he looked down at his wrist. ‘Shit- I mean damn- I’ve got to go!’ he yelped upon finding he had twenty minutes to get to his meeting. ‘Frerin I’ve got to go!’ he called, waving at his little boy as he walked over to him. He kissed him on the side of the head before pointing at Fili, who waved at him. ‘This man will look after you ok? He’s one of daddy’s friends.’ He said, worry suddenly spearing his chest- he’d never left him with a stranger before. Frerin shrugged, itching to get back into the pit. ‘Alright little man, I won’t be long!’ he promised, before releasing him back with the other kids.  
‘Are you sure this is ok?’ he said, straightening his tie as he walked back to Fili.  
‘Relax! Like I said before- I won’t kidnap the kid!’ Fili grinned, before squeezing his shoulder. ‘Good luck in whatever you’re doing- you’ll be great!’ he said, smiling at him as Kili walked off with a nod. He turned back to look at Frerin again, but smiled as he saw that he was too busy playing with the other children to probably notice that he was even gone. Breathing in deeply he headed out of the door, to see if he could finally get his life back on track.  
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
An hour and a half later, just as he promised, he walked back into the soft play area, loosening his tie. The meeting had gone better than he expected- Ed was confident that he’d get most of his old contacts back, and with a bit of work the contracts would roll in- some of them had left to go to rival firms after he’d left, including a lucrative deal with a bestselling author, but he figured that he just had to start again. He looked around, spotting Frerin playing with Molly and another little boy on a bench decked out with paint pots and paper. Fili was sat off to the side, sipping from a can of Coke and flipping through a magazine.  
‘I’m back!’ he called, making Fili jump slightly in the process- Frerin’s head shot up and he rushed to his side, hugging him tightly. Kili picked him up and hugged him tight, before grinning and wiping away a splodge of green paint on his forehead. ‘You making pictures?’ he asked, putting him down again and walking hand in hand with him to the bench.  
‘Yeah! I’m drawing my family!’ Frerin said proudly, pointing to a poster that was tacked to the wall next to the bench; it read “Can you draw your family?” in bright letters.  
‘Wow, let’s see then!’ Kili smiled, looking over at Fili as the man stood up to come and look over his daughter’s work too. They both bent down, and as they did Kili noticed a trend in their children’s pictures. ‘Where’s mummy?’ he muttered, kissing his son’s head as he pointed everyone out.  
‘Oh, she’s not there…’ Frerin replied, shrugging before looking up at him. ‘Should I draw her in, Daddy?’  
‘No,’ Kili shook his head, ruffling his hair. ‘Not if you don’t want to.’  
He looked over at Molly’s work, and his heart sank a bit as he really looked at what she had drawn- he had presumed the woman standing next to her was her mother, but she hadn’t quite finished colouring her in. He could now see that she was meant to have been drawn so vaguely, with a shimmering pair of wings attached to her back….looking closer he saw a small circle-type object in the ground next to her and what he presumed was her dad. A gravestone.  
He looked up at Fili, mouth forming apologetic words, but the other man shook his head with a smile, a hand raised before he pointed at Molly. Kili got the message, nodded, and stood up.  
‘You wanna keep playing or do you want to go to the duck pond like I promised?’ he asked Frerin, rubbing his back as the little boy carefully folded up his work. ‘Duck pond!’ he cried, beaming, before he looked over at Molly. ‘Can Molly come too?’ he asked, looking from Kili to Fili. The two men looked at each other- ‘You don’t have to,’ Kili smiled, shaking his head.  
‘Do you want to, Molly?’ Fili asked, pulling a wayward strand of hair away from his daughter’s face as she continued colouring in the grass on her paper.  
She looked up, nodding. ‘Can we?’ she said, a smile dawning on her face.  
‘Of course we can- that is if Kili and Frerin were hoping for some alone time?’ Fili ventured, eyebrows raised.  
‘Nope, I’m planning on some of that for this weekend- besides,’ Kili said, holding up a plastic bag with two loaves of bread in it, ‘who’s going to help Frerin get rid of all this?’ he grinned, the two men standing up as their kids whooped and raced to get their shoes and socks back on.  
‘I never think to do that sort of thing.’ Fili said as he reached for his jacket, motioning the bag. ‘I guess I’m not that good quite yet.’  
‘Don’t be stupid, you look like you’re an amazing dad!’ Kili admonished, pushing his shoulder gently. He thought about asking about the lady in the picture, but thought better of it as Frerin and Molly ran back towards them.  
‘Cheers, you don’t look so bad a dad yourself!’ Fili grinned, winking at him. ‘Right then- to the duck pond!’ he said, catching hold of Molly’s hand as they led the way out. ‘It’s not too far- it’s got its own duck house and everything!’  
‘Ooh a duck house, I can hardly wait!’ Kili teased, grinning as Fili burst out laughing as he walked out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter up soon! Duck pond cuteness!  
> Please comment!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the kids throw bread to the ducks, Fili and Kili get a chance to get to know each other a bit better....

The duck pond wasn’t as bad as Kili thought it would be- it was a nice size, crafted with a backdrop to a woodland walk, a wooden duck house (as promised) the centrepiece of it. Swans swam to and fro, along with a decent number of Mallards that Frerin and Molly were chucking lumps of bread to at the water’s edge. ‘Not too close!’ Kili warned them, smiling as Frerin nodded and stepped backwards before gently pulling Molly back as well. ‘He’s such a gentleman!’ Fili grinned, shaking his head at the two of them.  
‘He has his moments, I can assure you.’ Kili replied, taking a gulp of his orange juice. They had managed to find a bench that didn’t look like it was rotted right through, so they just sat and watched the kids as they played, just enjoying the peace for a moment.  
‘So,’ Fili said, sitting up, small smile on his face.  
‘So…’ Kili replied, an eyebrow cocked. He undid a button on his waistcoat as he was getting hot with all the layers. ‘What?’ he added when Fili only smiled.  
‘Nothing, I was just wondering how your day went- must’ve been pretty important to make such a fuss at the centre back there,’ Fili said, shrugging. ‘But it’s none of my business, I know…’  
‘Oh, that! It was just a meeting with my agent- slash- boss -slash -pain in my ass...’ Kili smiled, shaking his head. ‘I had to leave work because of…well….because of Frerin’s mother, really.’ He said, sighing. He could feel Fili’s eyes on him, making his cheeks burn a little. ‘She had some issues that I didn’t know about until it was too late, where all I could do was pick up the pieces and make sure our son was safe.’ He explained, noticing he was garbling his words.  
‘Wow, sounds tough.’ Fili murmured, looking away at last.  
‘Yeah…’ Kili nodded, feeling ludicrously better now he had got some of it off his chest- apart from his father, he had never really spoken about this to anyone else before. ‘She was a drug addict, and a damn good one- in the sense that she kept it well hidden, not that she did the best stuff.’ He hastily added, relaxing as Fili snorted again. ‘She stopped when she was pregnant, but as soon as Frerin was born she was back on the stuff….ran off with her dealer before coming back and demanding custody of him.’ he said darkly, shaking his head. ‘It took me most of my savings, my job and near on my sanity, but I beat her in court and got sole custody of him when he was two.’ He finished, looking over fondly at the two kids.  
‘Good for you! Makes a change from the regular stories of deadbeat dads and stuff.’ Fili said, smiling warmly at him.  
‘Well, I couldn’t just leave him with those people, it was….’ Kili shuddered at the memory, emotion clouding over him, ‘horrible, really horrible.’ He settled on saying, his voice audibly changing.  
‘Hey,’ Fili muttered, putting a hand on his leg. ‘You got him back, and you got him for good- no use going back there, is there?’ he whispered, smiling across at him.  
‘Yeah, yeah you’re right.’ Kili said, swallowing hard. He looked away as his eyes continued to mist over, but Fili kept his hand right on his leg, and in an odd way it was making him feel calmer, better.  
They were quiet for a few minutes, before Fili coughed into the back of his hand and made Kili jump. ‘Sorry!’ Fili grinned, before nodding his head over at the kids. ‘So…Frerin.’ He said, and Kili knew just where this was going. ‘Nice name, but…odd, if you don’t mind me saying.’ He finished, looking over at Kili.  
‘Yeah it is, I guess- Frerin was my dad’s brother.’ Kili replied, smiling into the distance. ‘He was great, a right eccentric type- he even walked with a cane, just for decoration and to appear more mysterious!’ he recalled, grinning.  
‘What happened to him?’ Fili asked, looking over at him.  
‘He went into the Army when I was ten, did a couple of tours….he was on the last week of his last ever tour, over in Iraq a few years ago, and his tank got caught by an IED.’ Kili lowered his head. ‘Died outright.’ He finished.  
‘Oh…god I’m sorry.’ Fili said, sighing. ‘Wow, you’ve been through some shit.’  
‘Who hasn’t?’ Kili replied, the picture that Molly drew still fresh in his mind. As Fili nodded at his comment he didn’t think that this was the time to mention it, so he instead offered him a boiled sweet out of his bag. Fili accepted it and they just sat there, sucking on their sweets and watched their kids play.  
‘Well,’ Fili finally broke the silence, stretching and sitting up straight. ‘I think it’s about time me and Molly were off- we’re making homemade pizza tonight- for the first ever time- and I need to go and pick up the ingredients on the way home!’ he said, looking across at Kili.  
‘Yeah, better do, before the shop closes!’ Kili replied, also sitting up straighter. ‘Listen, thanks for today- and the other day, at the café. Don’t know what I would have done without you stepping in.’ He admitted, giving him a smile.  
‘Don’t mention it, its what friends are for, right?’ Fili replied, returning the look. ‘Here..’ he added, rootling around in his jacket pocket for something; he hooked his phone into his hand and flicked it on. ‘Here’s my number, I don’t suppose you’ve got your landline sorted yet?’  
‘How did you know?’ Kili said, frowning.  
‘The phone company round here is utter shite- when I moved it took them three weeks to set it up!’ Fili grinned. ‘What’s your number?’  
‘Um..I don’t know it offhand- give me a second…’ Kili muttered, fishing out his own phone before reciting his number.  
‘Ok……done!’ Fili said, and seconds later Kili’s phone pinged with a text.  
‘Cheers for that,’ Kili said, assigning a name to the number. ‘maybe we could set up a playdate for Molly and Frerin sometime?’ he said, before they both looked over at their kids- they seemed to have finished throwing their bread, and were now both sitting cross legged on the ground just gazing across the water. ‘Bless…’ Fili muttered, smiling. ‘Molly, sweetheart- we’ve got to go now!’ he called, standing up and brushing down his jeans.  
‘Don’t want to!’ Molly cried, shaking her head.  
‘I don’t care what you want to do- we have to go and get dinner!’ Fili replied, trying to hide a smile. ‘Come on, you can play with Frerin another day!’  
‘No! I want to stay here!’  
‘Molly…come on, there’s a good girl-‘  
‘NO!’  
Fili sighed, shaking his head. He looked across at Kili, who deftly looked away, trying-and failing- to hide a smile. ‘Shut it, you!’ Fili grinned, before looking back at his daughter- this was going to get messy.  
‘Come on…we can have pineapple on your pizza if you want!’  
‘I don’t want to go home!’  
‘Well, ok, tell you what- you stay here, and Daddy will go home and make pizza and eat it all by himself, and you can come home when you want, alright?’ he said, before taking off on a slow walk down the road. ‘Bye Kili, bye Frerin!’ he called back, waving.  
‘See ya.’ Kili said, almost snorting out loud as Frerin and Molly looked after Fili, panicked looks on their faces. ‘Daddy?’ Molly whimpered, a frown on her face. Fili stopped upon hearing her voice, and turned back. ‘Coming home with me?’ he called, holding out a hand.  
‘Yes! I’m coming now!’ she said, picking herself up and running after him. Kili grinned as he watched her speed her way to her Dad. Fili caught her hand smiled down at her, before waggling his fingers at Kili and Frerin and turning back, before Molly could change her mind again.  
‘Come on then, you- time to go home as well!’ Kili said to Frerin, pleased to see him standing up and not making a fuss.  
‘Can we have pizza too, Daddy?’ he asked as they walked hand in hand down the road, back to their house.  
‘Well, if there’s any in the freezer we can.’ Kili said, smiling down at him.  
As they got back inside the house he shut the door with a snap, smiling as the day’s events washed over him- he was back on track with work, his son had made a new friend, and he had found someone that he could (hopefully) rely on as a friend, which was good going seeing as they hadn’t long been in the town.  
‘Right…’ he said, rubbing his hands together and heading for the kitchen. ‘Let’s get this pizza on!’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, please comment!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Granddad Thorin comes to stay for the weekend, and Kili gets his first night out in years...

The next few days passed in a haze of welcome days out and quiet nights in watching cartoons and generally forgetting about the world outside. While Frerin was sleeping Kili started working on a few bits and pieces that Ed had passed over to him to help build his portfolio up again; as he tapped away at his keyboard or sat highlighting passages of text on his sofa he began to relax, to finally believe that things were getting better.

They had also met up with Fili and Molly a couple more times, once at the duck pond again ( where Fili had also come prepared with three loaves of bread, which took them nearly two hours to feed to the rapidly bloating ducks), and twice when they had randomly met in town. Kili enjoyed these little meetings, as it made a change for both himself and Frerin to have someone their own age to speak to. He missed decent human interaction, as sad as that sounded, but apart from some old friends back in Berriston, he didn't really have that many people around him he could talk to about normal, day to day things.  
Soon enough Friday morning dawned, the day that Thorin was due to arrive; Kili made up his bed in fresh sheets, intending for his Dad to use his bed while he used the sofa in the living room- he knew that Thorin would probably refuse this offer, as he always did, but he was going to try nevertheless.  
Frerin had been busy painting pictures of the duck pond to show him, and was now getting so excited for his Grandad's arrival that he could hardly sit still. As Kili finished washing up their breakfast things he glanced down at his watch- it was nearing twelve, and worry started spearing in his chest; for one thing, Thorin hadn't phoned like he had promised he would, and secondly he normally arrived early when he spent the weekend with them, at least before ten. He leaned back on the counter and craned his neck to see out the window- his Dad's green vintage Jaguar wasn't anywhere to be seen.

He toyed with the idea of giving him a call, but reasoned against it because he was probably on his way, which meant he was driving, which meant he couldn't answer it. He was just about to walk back over to Frerin when a taxi pulled up outside; frowning, he watched as the ruffled looking driver stepped out and walked to the boot, before unloading two worn leather travelling bags....his Dad's.  
'What the....' He muttered to himself, walking to the door and opening it to find his Father unfolding himself from the passenger seat.  
'Dad?' Kili said, frowning again as the taxi driver came round to Thorin's door and presented him with a pair of crutches from the boot.  
'Not a word.' Thorin replied, shaking his head as he struggled to get out- Kili held out a hand but he refused with a shake of his black hair.  
'I can do it myself,' he said, before slowly levering himself out and onto the pavement- Kili could now see his left leg was in a plaster cast.  
'What in god's name have you done to yourself?' He exclaimed, shaking his head.  
'Fell over eemrg.....' Thorin muttered, deep voice trailing off so Kili couldn't quite catch the end of his sentence.  
'Pardon?' He asked lightly, stifling a smile; he knew this was going to be good.  
'I fell over the dog, ok?' Thorin growled, rolling his eyes. 'Satisfied?'  
Kili nodded, face as passive as he could manage- Thorin caught his eye, the side of his mouth turning up, and they both chuckled, shaking their heads. ‘Only you dad, only you!’ Kili smiled, bending down and gathering his bags. ‘Poor Smaug, how is he?’  
‘The damn Chihuahua is fine!’ Thorin said, sighing. He grinned over at Kili, who shook his head. ‘Come on then, I’ll find a box you can rest it on,’ he said, stepping back so his dad could manoeuvre himself.  
‘I just need to pay the driver- how much is it mate?’ he asked the driver, who was stood by his door, massaging his temples- Kili expected it had not been a pleasant trip for him. ‘Eighty five, mate,’ he replied, checking the computer on his dashboard.  
‘Eighty? Eighty? For forty seven miles?’ Thorin asked, eyes wide. ‘You’re having a laugh!’  
‘No, it would have been less, but I had to wait at the supermarket while you went in to buy DVDs- that bumped it up, mate.’  
‘I explained to you….’  
‘I know, but it’s the rate- it’s what I charge.’  
Thorin puffed himself up, mouth creased in a line- Kili was sure something was going to give in a second, until Thorin smiled as he saw something over his shoulder; Kili looked, and grinned as he saw Frerin at the window, waving wildly at his granddad. ‘Alright! Have your damn eighty five quid….’ He said, pushing notes into the driver’s open palm. ‘Keep the change.’ He muttered, before turning away and waving at Frerin.  
‘Hey, how’s my favourite grandson?’ he called through the slightly open window, smiling as Frerin grinned and nodded.  
‘Dad, he’s your only grandson!’ Kili said, following him slowly as Thorin made his way to the front door.  
‘Exactly! More reason to treat him- I brought ice cream and some children friendly films, I think…’  
‘Dad, you didn’t need to-‘  
‘I can and I have- who else am I going to spend my money on?’  
‘Oh I don’t know….me?’ Kili offered with a sly smile, pushing open the door with his foot so they could get through- Frerin rushed to meet them, flinging his arms around Thorin’s leg. His Dad looked at him sideways before winking, but didn’t reply. Kili grinned and carefully moved past him to put his bags in the kitchen, before coming back to see Thorin ruffling Frerin’s hair- He looked down at the little boy, his blue eyes twinkling- ‘How are you, Frerin? It’s been a long time since I last saw you! You’re getting bigger and bigger every day, it seems!’ he smiled.  
‘Yeah!’ Frerin cried, nodding his head. ‘You wanna come and watch Power Rangers with me and Daddy?’  
‘Power Rangers?’ Thorin muttered, looking at Kili with a grin. ‘Wasn’t that more your era?’  
‘Seems to be making a comeback- I need to show him the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles one day!’ Kili replied, grinning.  
‘Ah yes, I remember the hours you spent rewinding the same damn tape and watching the episodes over and over again!’ Thorin said, rolling his eyes. He looked down at Frerin, who was now eying his crutches with a concerned look- he patted his head, smiling as the little boy looked up. ‘Don’t worry,’ he said, motioning his crutches, ‘Granddad had a little accident before he came here, but I’m ok now- now I can watch films with you all day!’ Both men laughed as Frerin whooped and raced back into the living room to switch the channel on, leaving Father and Son alone at last.

‘So, how are you?’ Thorin asked first, deep voice low.  
‘Fine, I guess- coping.’ Kili said, smiling over at him. ‘Tea? Coffee?’  
‘Tea would be nice, thanks.’ Thorin said, but Kili could tell that he wasn’t about to let the subject be dropped so easily. As Kili prepared the mugs Thorin sat heavily on one of the wooden chairs, before dumping his crutches on the floor. ‘Has she been in touch?’  
‘No, thank God- she hasn’t even written to me, like the agreement said.’ Kili muttered, putting the teabags in the cups and stepping back to let the kettle boil. He looked over at his dad, saw concern in his eyes. ‘I don’t want her to contact me, I don’t want her to be anywhere near him….he’s been through enough, he doesn’t need her coming back to the scene…’  
‘No, but she’s his mother- she’s going to want to see-‘  
‘I don’t care what she wants! As far as I’m concerned she lost her right as a parent the moment she injected herself after Frerin was born.’ Kili snapped, emotions rising. Thorin nodded as the kettle flicked off, the steam enveloping the two of them like a warm mist. ‘I understand, you know I do- I don’t want her anywhere near him just as much as you…but you have to be realistic.’ He said as Kili poured the water.  
‘I know…’ he sighed, putting the kettle back and waiting for the water to turn. ‘Sorry for snapping….I just thought, with the move and everything we’d be able to put all this behind us.’ He finished, fishing the tea bags out of the mugs and pouring milk in before handing a mug to his father.  
‘It will change- you can get your life back on track, start earning good money again….your confidence will come back in time.’ Thorin said, sipping on his tea.  
‘And who says I’ve lost it?’ Kili asked; a look at his father’s expression on his face told him everything. He sighed, running a hand down his face as he sat next to his Dad. ‘I just want this to be a fresh start, no more worrying, no more nightmares, no more middle of the night dashes to hospital….just me, Frerin and the family that love him.’  
‘You’ll get there, I know you will- I’ll be there every step of the way as well.’ Thorin said, smile on his face- he put a hand on Kili’s forearm and squeezed.  
‘Daddy? Granddad?’ Frerin asked from the doorway.  
‘What’s the matter, sweetheart?’ Kili asked, smiling over at him.  
‘Are you coming to watch Power Rangers?’  
‘Of course! Me and Granddad where just talking, that’s all- we’ll be right there!’ he replied, before looking over at Thorin, who was just starting to get up, looking very awkward as he did so. ‘I’ll take your tea…’ he grinned, taking it from his grasp with a chuckle. ‘Don’t want you to scald yourself on top of everything else!’  
‘Very funny…’ Thorin grumbled, before he stood with his crutches, and starting making his way to the living room, with Kili close behind.

Xxxxxx

‘I don’t think so.’  
‘Dad, please, I’ll be perfectly fine on the sofa...’  
‘No.’  
‘Look, any other time, I’d give in on this and let you take the sofa- but you’ve got a gammy leg and sleeping in a bed is much easier than struggling getting off the low sofa.’  
‘I do not have a “gammy leg”….what am I, a pigeon?’ Thorin huffed, giving his son a look. Kili stared back, an eyebrow arched. He knew they’d have this argument- he chanced a look at the open bathroom door to make sure Frerin was ok. The little boy sploshed happily in his bubble bath, playing with a crop of boats Thorin had bought him on his way here.  
He turned back to his dad, crossing his arms. ‘I’m sleeping on the sofa, and that’s final- I already fixed it up in nice fresh sheet for you.’  
‘Well I’m honoured!’ Thorin teased, shaking his head. ‘You’re sure?’  
‘Positive.’  
‘Fine….I’m not going to like it though,’ he muttered, walking over to the bed. ‘And the mattress is harder than I like.’  
‘Well, next time you come, hitch your own mattress onto the roof of your car and drive it down with you!’ Kili chuckled from the door.  
‘Very funny…’ Thorin said, shaking his head. They both turned as a dull clunk was heard from the bathroom, followed by an annoyed cry.  
‘Frerin?’ Kili called, crossing to the bathroom with Thorin not far behind, ambling along on his crutches, only to find a soapy boat on the floor by the sink, an annoyed Frerin looking after it with a scowl on his face.  
‘What happened, captain?’ Thorin asked, awkwardly bending down to pick it up before dropping it back into the water with a splash.  
‘Tidal wave!’ Frerin replied, giggling.  
Kili snorted, shaking his head; he grabbed the fluffy purple towel from the railing and held it open. ‘Does the captain want to get warm and comfy for film night?’ he asked, grinning as Frerin nodded and stood up. He wrapped him tight in the towel and lifted him from the bath, before carrying him to his bedroom. ‘What do you fancy watching, then?’ he asked as he rubbed him dry.  
‘Power Rangers!’ Frerin cried, looking from Kili to Thorin with wide eyes.  
‘Uhh…how about something else, sweetheart?’ Thorin replied, giving Kili a sideways look- they’d spent the afternoon watching the same two episodes on repeat.  
‘Don’t know….’ Frerin replied, little mouth pursed in thought.  
‘How about….Lady and the Tramp?’ Kili asked- he had found out that the reason Thorin’s cab bill was so much was because, en route to the flat, he’d gone into a shop and bought a stack of Disney films, alongside chocolate and magazines.  
‘No.’  
‘Finding Nemo?’  
‘Nope!’  
‘….Dumbo?’  
‘No!’  
Kili was starting to run out of Disney films to name. He looked over at Thorin, who shrugged and held up his hands, causing his crutches to fall from where he had placed them on his legs.  
He managed to catch them before they fell, but not before Frerin squealed with laughter and Kili stifled a grin.  
‘I’m going to bed instead….’ He teased, grinning.  
‘Alright- how about……god I don’t know…..Pinocchio?’ he asked, all out of ideas.  
‘….Yeah!’  
‘Yeah?’  
‘Yeah! Can I have the chocolate buttons, daddy?’  
‘Not if I get them first!’ Thorin grinned, laughing as Frerin shook his head with a cry of ‘Noo!’.  
‘Alright, let’s get your jammies on….then we can get the duvet from granddad’s bed!’ Kili smiled as he picked up his son’s spaceship pyjamas.  
Soon they were ready to head back into the living room, but as Kili stepped back into the bedroom to grab the duvet Thorin grabbed his elbow and pulled him aside slightly, pushing something papery into his palm.  
‘What the…’  
‘Go out, Kili- I’ll look after Frerin.’ Thorin said kindly, eyes twinkling as he looked over his son.  
‘Dad, I can’t…this is forty quid…’ Kili babbled, making to give the money back.  
‘I won’t accept it, so don’t even think of giving it back!’ he warned, tone serious. He pushed his hand back to his chest, smiling. ‘You probably haven’t had a night out since the lad came back to you….you need to enjoy yourself, be a single man again, go and have a drink somewhere, for me?’  
Kili rubbed the back of his neck, each word ringing with truths. It had been a while since he’d been out, but he knew it was because Frerin needed him- he looked over at him, sitting cross-legged on the sofa with a grin on his face.  
‘We were going to watch a film…’ he muttered, almost embarrassed that he was reducing himself to clutching at straws. Truth was, he was almost nervous about going out by himself; he’d been out of the loop for a long time.  
‘We can watch another one tomorrow night, and you can buy a takeaway!’ Thorin smiled, giving him a one-armed hug.  
Kili nodded, knowing his Dad was right about everything. ‘Ok, I’ll go…cheers dad.’ He smiled, feeling a rush of love.  
‘Don’t mention it, it’s what Dads are here for, right? To look after their kids?’ Thorin muttered in a low voice. Kili nodded, swallowing hard- he cleared his throat before turning to Frerin, who was now trying to prise the lid off a box of Pringles he’d found in a bag.  
Once he’d explained to him the change of plans, he quickly showered and got dressed in a smart-ish shirt and his suit trousers. He looked at himself in the mirror, feeling more than a bit awkward.  
As he walked back into the living room he smiled as he saw Frerin cuddled up to Thorin under the duvet, the familiar sounds of a twinkling Disney film starting up.  
‘You be a good boy for Granddad, ok?’ he smiled, kissing Frerin’s head before smoothing down his hair. ‘Go to bed when he says, ok?’ Frerin nodded, smiling between him and Thorin, who rubbed his shoulder affectionately. ‘He’ll be a good boy, don’t worry.’ He smiled, nodding to Kili as he crossed to the kitchen to grab his keys.  
‘I won’t be out late, but don’t wait up for me!’ he called back to his Dad.  
‘Son, you’re not eighteen anymore! You can stay out as long as you like now!’ Thorin called, snorting.  
‘Ha ha!’ Kili replied, before he walked over to the front door.  
‘Bye Daddy! Have fun!’ he heard Frerin shout from the other room. He grinned to himself, knowing just how lucky he was to have such an amazing little boy.  
‘Bye bye Frerin, I will!’ he replied, before opening the door and letting the evening breeze hit him. Unnatural, strange nerves sprang into his chest- it had been a while since he’d gone out drinking, not since the last time he’d had a drink with his Dad in the local back in Berriston.  
He breathed in, shaking his head at his childishness. ‘Bye!’ he called for the last time, before stepping forwards and shutting the door with a snap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Kili heads off for his long overdue night out, he meets a certain flame haired woman, encounters a local darts team, and finishes the night sharing chips with Fili......as his night seems to be going well, something comes along that brings Kili back to earth with a rather hard bump....

It had started drizzling as Kili finally made his way to the only pub in town- he’d had to go back on himself a couple of times after finding that he’d gone in the wrong direction, walking almost to the town boundary. But he’d made it, with his hair only slightly plastered to his head; he ran his hands through it as he pushed the door open, the welcome smell of warmness and split beer catching his nose. The pub was busy, and as Kili looked there seemed to be a game of Darts going on, a tournament by the looks of the amount of people crowding around. Yells and whoops could be heard from the corner as he straightened his black leather jacket and headed over to the bar.

He scanned the taps of beer, bitter, lager and ale, finally settling for his old favourite. ‘Can I have a pint of Tea, please?’ he asked the young barman, who nodded and fetched a pint glass. As he poured the dark liquid in, Kili looked around, taking in the surroundings. There was a group of women sat off to the side of the bar, sipping through straws and eyeing up every man who came near. A few old men were sat in a corner, playing cards together and talking in low voices, the hum of the music from the jukebox making it hard to make proper conversation.  
‘Here you go, mate- that’ll be £4.50.’ the barman said, passing over the glass onto the bar. Kili groaned at the price- next time he’d just go to the shop, buy a few cans of bitter and drink them at home; it was much cheaper.

‘Cheers.’ He said nonetheless, handing him a fiver. He sipped the foam off the top of his glass as he waited for his change, and as he did he spotted a familiar person at a table in the corner. Fili was alone, save for a single red rose on the table opposite him. Kili smiled, but hesitated- he didn’t want to intrude.  
‘Here’s your 50p, mate.’ The barman said, pushing the coin into his palm before dashing off to another customer. Kili nodded in thanks, drinking more of his ale, before a woman came sidling up to him, mouth upturned in a sexy smile. ‘Hey,’ she purred, looking him up and down. ‘Are you going to buy me a drink?’  
‘What do you want?’ he replied, smiling as she laid a hand on his shoulder.   
‘Hmm….sex on the beach?’ she said playfully, winking at him. ‘Or how about a screaming orgasm?’  
‘I don’t think they do cocktails here….’ Kili grinned, winking back.   
‘Shame,’ she replied. ‘Vodka and coke will do then.’ She chuckled, standing upright and sighing. ‘God these shoes are killing me!’   
Kili had to laugh, but managed to contain it to a small chuckle. ‘You need some plasters….alright, I’ll buy you a drink.’ He smiled, ordering the vodka and coke before turning back.  
‘I only bought them yesterday too….’ She groaned, before shaking her head. ‘Not one of my best chat up lines….’ She added.  
‘It was quite good- you almost had me at “screaming orgasm”.’ Kili replied, handing her her drink after giving the barman his money.

‘So, what’s a pretty girl like you doing in a place like this?’  
‘Ohh, very good!’ the woman grinned, green eyes twinkling. ‘I live here, and this is the only pub within twenty miles.’ She replied, giving him a smirk. ‘I aint walking that far for a voddy and coke!’  
‘Agreed!’ Kili grinned. The two stood in silence as they drank their drinks, still scanning the room. ‘Nice place,’ he said after a while.  
‘Yeah, if you’re sixty and a member of the male species…’ she grimaced, nodding her head at the group of men he’d spotted earlier. ‘I swear that lot never go home, they’re just permanent fixtures…’ she grinned. Kili snorted, smiling too. ‘I’m Kili.’ He said, holding out a hand.  
‘Oooh, nice name!’ the woman smiled, taking his hand and giving it a shake.  
‘Thanks, what’s yours?’ he replied.  
‘Tauriel,’ she replied, grinning. ‘Tauriel Woods.’  
‘Wow, that’s a pretty name!’  
‘Aw thanks!’ Tauriel smiled, before the women she had been with called her name, waving their hands at the two of them and hooting. ‘Honestly, buy them a couple of drinks and they’re all wasted!’ Tauriel grinned. Kili smiled back, draining his glass. ‘I better go,’ she added, rolling her eyes good-naturedly at her friends. ‘See you around?’  
‘Probably!’ Kili replied, nodding at her before she walked away- she got halfway to her friends before she unhooked the clasps on her shoes, took them off and carried them the rest of the way by the straps. Kili smiled after her, before ordering another drink. 

As he stood back against the bar again he saw Fili stretch, before their eyes met across the room. Fili smiled widely at him, waving him over. Kili moved over to him, narrowly dodging a member of the darts tournament who was rushing to the bar. He rolled his eyes as he got nearer, before slipping into the seat opposite Fili with a snort. ‘I didn’t realise this was an obstacle course!’  
‘Oh yeah, you gotta keep your wits about you here!’ Fili teased, blue eyes twinkling. He looked down and saw the rose- with wide eyes he took it back, putting it safely in his jacket. ‘Sorry…’ he muttered, picking up his pint glass.  
‘Don’t be,’ Kili smiled, relaxing in his seat. ‘It’s none of my business.’   
Fili smiled at the sentiment, before his expression turned sad. ‘Today’s my anniversary, or would have been.’ He started, voice low. ‘Seven years. Not long, but long enough.’  
‘Fili, you don’t have to explain…’ Kili said, shaking his head. He could see the man was getting choked up just talking.  
‘I know, but its nice to- no one wants to talk about her anymore, and…well, I like talking about her.’ He smiled, shrugging.  
Kili smiled back, nodding his head. ‘I understand- were you married?’ he asked, supping on his pint.  
‘No,’ Fili said, ‘we wanted to, but we kept putting it off- then it was too late.’  
‘Wow, I’m sorry Fili,’ Kili muttered, shaking his own head sadly, ‘how long has it been?’ he finished in a low voice.  
‘Two years.’ Fili replied, before downing his drink. ‘She was killed in a drink driving collision, her and two other cars. Massive pileup on the road. I just thank God every day that Molly was with her brother and not in the car with her, otherwise I’d have lost them both.’   
‘Wow…’ Kili muttered, not knowing what else to say. ‘What was her name?’  
‘Sophie.’  
‘Well,’ Kili raised his pint, looking Fili straight in the eyes as he smiled over at him, ‘to you and Sophie.’  
Fili smiled back, before giving him a small nod. ‘Cheers,’ he said, blue eyes swimming before he blinked a couple of times. ‘I’ll get the next one?’ he said, motioning their empty glasses.  
‘Alright, I’ll have a Bells and Coke if you don’t mind?’  
‘Ah, so you’re a Whisky kind of guy?’  
‘Yeah, sometimes…beats lager any day!’  
‘Oi, watch it!’ Fili teased, shaking his head. ‘I quite fancy and Bells and Coke now, actually!’ he smiled, before getting up and walking to the bar. Kili watched him go, a peculiar feeling rearing into his chest. It was probably because he felt sorry for the guy, a bit protective over him….he pushed it away as Fili came back, two tall glasses in his hands, a straw in each. ‘I don’t know why they gave me straws, its not like we’re teenagers!’ he grinned, fishing his out and putting it on the table.  
‘Oh I don’t know,’ Kili muttered, sucking his straw before giving him a smile, ‘I quite like having something to suck!’  
‘Oh I bet you do!’ Fili laughed, shaking his head. They sat in a silence for a while, listening to the songs still blaring from the jukebox.   
‘When does it start to filter out?’ Kili asked, eyes crunched up as a rock song started, loud enough to make him think the real thing was playing live right next to them.  
‘What, the music or the people?’ Fili replied, grinning.  
‘Both!’  
‘Not till evening- we could get out of here if you like? I quite fancy a kebab!’  
‘One more, then I’m game!’ Kili replied, draining his glass and standing up. ‘Same again?’  
‘Yeah, why not?’  
Kili ambled back to the bar, smiling properly for what felt like the first time in months. He ordered the drinks and sat back, before a pang of guilt flashed- he wondered what Frerin and his dad were doing…looking at his watch he almost gasped as he saw it was already half ten. Frerin would probably- hopefully- be asleep by now. 

After paying for his drinks he walked back to the table, smiling down at Fili as he placed the drink in front of him. ‘Cheers’. As Kili sat down Fili smiled across at him, a fond look on face. ‘Thanks for this, for cheering me up.’ He said, tipping his glass to him. Kili shrugged, sipping his drink before smiling back. ‘Don’t mention it; it’s what friends are for, right?’  
‘Yeah, but none of my friends would do this- they’d probably try and get me drunk to “get my mind off things”, and I’d end up with a monster hangover in the morning.’ Fili replied, eyebrows raised.  
‘Well, some people are like that, aren’t they?’  
‘But not you?’  
‘I prefer it when people are coherent when they talk to me, not slurring or crying…I’ve had too much of that.’ Kili replied, before shaking his head- trust him to try and bring things back to him. ‘But tonight’s about you, not about me…we can get trashed if you want?’  
Fili snorted out a laugh, blue eyes shining. ‘No thanks!’ he grinned, sipping his drink. ‘I feel like you, I don’t know….understand me, what I’m going through- after all, you lost a girlfriend too.’  
‘Yeah, but she’s not dead.’ Kili said, inwardly saying “but how many nights did I wish she were?” he pushed the thought from his head, disgusted with himself.   
‘No, but she’s gone.’  
‘Yeah, I guess…’ Kili conceded, letting it go. They sat back just as someone must have won the darts- a huge cheer went up, along with whistles and hoots of congratulations; Kili watched with a smile as the victor pranced about, bowing to the loser and downing his pint. ‘Mark always wins,’ Fili said, shaking his head with a grin, ‘I think he weights his darts or something.’ They laughed as Mark started a victory walk, high-fiving everyone who he came into contact with; Fili and Kili high-fived him, Fili bowing down to him as Mark made his way to the bar, swiftly followed by a pack of others.  
‘Shall we go? It’s only going to get messy!’ he said, turning to Kili and draining his glass.  
‘Why?’ Kili replied, doing the same.

‘The losers always have to buy the winner a drink, and then the runners up- pretty soon everyone is sloshed and then the local idiots turn up for the free bar.’ Fili said, shaking his head as he zipped up his jacket. ‘I got my phone stolen last month when I stayed longer than I normally do.’  
‘Bastards.’  
‘It’s just the way it is- right, chippy here we come!’ Fili grinned, clapping his hands together. They made their way to the door, picking their way through hooting revellers- the cold night air made Kili gasp, and he pulled his coat round him to keep off the chill; Fili wrapped a scarf round his neck, looking over at Kili. ‘You look like you’re about to freeze your nads off right there!’ he teased, pulling out his gloves and handing them to him. ‘Here, wear these- it gets bitterly cold out now!’  
‘Cheers!’ Kili said, pulling on the black gloves- once his hands got a little warmer he looked round, noting that for such a small town there was a lot of people about. ‘Where’s this chippy then?’ he asked, ‘and anyway- I thought you said you wanted a kebab?’  
‘I do- the chippy does it all!’ Fili grinned, before leading the way, arm out-stretched like a tour guide.  
It certainly was popular- a long line of people snaked its way along the pavement, almost round the corner. Fili and Kili took their places, their breath fogging in front of their faces as they waited for the slow line to advance.

‘Wow, I didn’t know it would be so busy!’ Kili smiled, teeth only slightly chattering together.  
‘You must come from a pretty small place to have to call this busy!’ Fili grinned, shaking his head. ‘Me and some mates once did an experiment….it’s always mega-busy around one, so we stood in line and waited to see how long it would take before we got our turn…. We had to wait almost two hours!’  
‘….and you don’t call that busy?’  
‘Well, quite busy I guess…’  
‘I think the whiskey has gone straight to your head!’  
‘Hey, watch it!’ Fili grinned, poking him in the side, before somehow tripping over his own feet and falling into his chest. They laughed as Kili put him upright again, but as he stood back he felt another pang of something in his chest.  
‘Sorry! Me and my big feet!’ Fili grinned, cheeks a little pink. Soon enough they got to the end of the line…after ordering Fili’s kebab and Kili’s battered sausage and chips they made their way back outside, the steaming packages in their arms making Kili’s mouth water. They found a bench next to an old rusted fountain, the splashing water feature long gone- He stabbed a chip with the little wooden fork in his packet and popped it into his mouth, the welcome taste making him sigh in contentment.   
He looked across at Fili as the man picked up a wodge of salad and dumped it into the bin beside him, nose wrinkled. He caught Kili’s eye and grinned. ‘Don’t tell Molly!’ he whispered, tapping the side of his nose. ‘I always make her eat her salad!’  
‘Not a word!’ Kili replied, winking. He picked his sausage up and bit into it, the grease sliding down onto his hands a bit. As he chewed he looked around, smiling. ‘Nice place, this.’ He said, looking round as Fili snorted.

‘It’s not bad, but I can’t wait to get out- go somewhere a bit bigger.’ He eyed Kili's chips, mouth upturned in a wolfish smile. 'I never remember to get chips with my kebab...' he said pointedly, grinning when Kili handed him a few, chuckling like a teenager.  
‘Oh, a city man, are you?’ Kili asked after, spearing another chip with a wry smile on his own lips.  
‘Yeah, I was born in London- well, the outskirts, but I always used to go on trips with my Dad when I was younger.’ Fili replied, smiling as he ate. ‘I love the bustle of city life- its not for everyone…’ he added, looking at Kili’s face.  
‘I prefer the quiet places, countryside and all that.’ Kili said, smiling as Fili nodded, eyes twinkling. He turned away, feeling his cheeks burn despite the coldness. ‘We like what we like, right?’ he added, finishing his sausage.

‘Of course- we’ll have to go on a trip to London though, I haven’t been for ages, if you want?’  
‘I’m not sure Frerin would be too good on the tube,’ Kili muttered.  
‘Yeah, Molly’s never been cooped up like that before either….taxi?’  
‘Expensive.’  
‘Walking?’  
‘Hurty feety!’ Kili grinned, and Fili snorted at that- he nodded, popping some more kebab meat into his mouth. ‘True, but it’s better than claustrophobic kids and an empty bank account!’  
‘Agreed!’ Kili nodded, before they both started as his phone went off. Frowning, and with panic rearing into his chest, he fished it out of his pocket; he guessed Thorin was having a little trouble with getting Frerin to bed- his heart nearly jumped into his mouth as he read the caller ID. He pressed the red button to end the call, putting it on his knee as he wrapped up his rubbish and turned to dump it into the bin, hands shaking.  
Fili looked across at him with concerned eyes, but at this moment his heart was beating so fast he could barely breathe. The phone went off again, loud in his ears. Again he looked at the caller ID, closing his eyes as he read the name. This couldn’t be happening, and at this time of night…..

He looked across at Fili as he pressed the off button again, giving him a shaky smile. ‘Wrong number…’ he said, voice wavering a little. Fili nodded back, not looking convinced, before he wrapped up his rubbish and put it in the bin, pulling his scarf tighter round his neck, before frowning and looking across at Kili as his phone went off again.  
This time he turned it off without looking at it, putting it back in his pocket with a groan.  
‘Problem?’ the word seemed to just roll off Fili’s tongue, and Kili had to give a little chuckle at that, but inside he felt like screaming. ‘I….a little one….’ He replied, noting his hands were still shaking. He clenched them into fists, feeling his nails dig into the skin of his palms.  
‘Frerin’s mum?’ Kili gave a start at that, eyes wide- did he know how to read him that well already?  
‘Yeah…’ he breathed, feeling his eyes sting in anticipation of tears. He thought this was over, that he wouldn’t have to deal with things like this any more….  
‘Hey, its alright…calm down…’ Fili said, voice soothing as he put a warm hand on Kili’s arm, squeezing lightly. Kili nodded at his words, breathing out slowly- Katie calling him now wasn’t good; old feelings started to whirl in his stomach, and it made him feel sick. ‘I have to go home…I need to see how Frerin is…’ he said, standing up and pulling Fili’s gloves from his pocket. ‘Sorry, here- you can have these back.’ He muttered, feeling his cheeks burn as Fili looked at him, eyes wide with concern as he took the gloves back.  
‘Hey…he’s fine, you said he was with your dad, right?’   
‘Yeah, but-‘  
‘So she’s not there, he’s absolutely fine and you know it- you need to calm down before you go home, you don’t want to scare him.’  
‘I will…I mean I won’t….I…’ Kili garbled into the space between them, before he forced himself to calm down. He was overreacting. He knew it- he needed to think rationally about it.   
‘I mean it-‘Fili said, pulling him by his shoulders and shaking him a little, the smell of Whisky on his breath, before pulling him into a warm hug, rubbing his back as he quivered, but whether from cold or emotion he didn’t know. ‘Don’t worry about her- just worry about Frerin….and he’s fine!’ he said quietly. ‘Just breathe….nice and calm….’ He said, his voice calming him like a mantra as he let go and stepped backwards to give him some room.  
‘Ok….’ Kili said after some deep breaths, nodding at Fili. ‘Thanks.’  
‘Don’t mention it- you want me to walk with you?’  
‘That’s really kind, but you don’t have to.’  
‘You sure you’re going to be ok?’ his voice was quiet, but Fili’s narrowed eyes made Kili know exactly how he felt.  
‘I…yeah, I will- she’ll probably phone again later, but…’ his voice trailed off as he realised he didn’t really know what he was going to do if she did phone him again.   
‘I know its none of my business, but I wouldn’t answer- she’ll get bored and stop eventually.’  
Kili snorted and shook his head ruefully. ‘No, she’ll probably visit next-‘ he shuddered at the thought. He pulled himself together and smiled across at Fili, who didn’t look entirely convinced he was even able to walk home.  
‘Well, you have my number…we still need to set a playdate for the kids- we can talk then?’  
‘Yeah, I’d- I mean we’d- love that.’ Kili smiled, nodding appreciatively.   
‘Alright then….if you’re ok?’  
‘I’m fine, don’t worry about me.’  
‘Ok- goodnight then, see you later!’ Fili said, giving him a wave as he straightened his scarf.  
‘Night.’ Kili replied, returning the wave before setting off into the darkness, trying to remember his way home.

As he finally reached his doorstep he fished his phone from his pocket and turned it on, the glare making him wince.  
6 missed calls. Great, absolutely bloody perfect- Kili unlocked his door with a shaking hand, breathing hard to try and quell his emotions.  
The living room was dark, and Kili had to smile as he saw Thorin had put out his sheets and duvet on the sofa with a pillow, his pyjamas in a small pile on the floor, along with his slippers.   
As he looked closer he saw a piece of paper on his pillow- picking it up he almost cried right there and then as he Frerin had drawn a picture of himself, Kili and Thorin holding hands next to the flat, big red smiles on their faces.  
He crossed to the fridge in the kitchen and tacked it on there with a magnet, before walking over to Frerin’s room, the door again slightly ajar. Despite the cacophony of panic, fear and hate dancing in his chest, he had to hide a laugh behind his hands as his eyes adjusted to the darkness and he looked properly into the room- Frerin was fast asleep, clutching onto Mr Chips….and tucked under the arm of Thorin, who was snoring lightly under the covers too. He stood watching them for a moment, vaguely wondering whether he should take a picture for blackmail purposes, before settling on walking quietly out of the room. ‘Night guys…’ he whispered, before shutting the door gently and padding into the living room to his own makeshift bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please comment!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the gang take a trip to the duck pond they encounter a very angry swan, Thorin complains about his sore leg, and Kili finally comes clean to his Dad about who has been phoning him....

The next morning, Kili was relieved to find he didn’t have a headache, merely a dry mouth which was soon remedied by a glass of water as he sorted out the sofa before Frerin got up. As he was dumping his pillows on the floor beside the sofa he heard his bedroom door open, followed by the clicking sounds of his Dad’s crutches as he slowly made his way to the living room.  
‘Morning,’ Thorin greeted him, before settling heavily on the sofa and straightening his jumper. ‘Good night?’  
‘Yeah, wasn’t bad,’ Kili said, turning to the kitchen and flicking the kettle on for their morning brew. ‘Met a friend, had some chips….’ He said, unhooking two mugs before opening the kitchen curtains to let in the weak morning sunlight.  
‘Friend?’ Thorin’s voice went up a notch, telling Kili that he was thinking along the lines of girlfriend rather than anything else. He looked back, eyebrow arched.  
‘Just a friend, dad.’ He smiled, walking back and putting the TV on for the morning news.  
‘Would this friend be a maiden?’ Thorin pressed playfully, a smile on his lips as he watched Kili go pink.  
‘No…a- what do you call an old-fashioned man?’ He replied, playing along.  
‘Gent?’  
‘Yeah- a gent,’ Kili grinned. Thorin looked across at him, a fond look on his face.  
‘As long as you’re not alone in this town- friends are good things to have around you.’ He said, letting the matter drop.  
‘Yeah, he is…’ Kili muttered as the kettle whistled, and he turned back to pour the water. He smiled to himself as he recalled the previous night’s events, and as he went to give his Dad his mug he heard a small voice from the hallway, before loud footsteps could be heard bounding towards the living room.  
‘Careful Frerin!’ Kili called as the little boy bounced into the room, pointing to the mug in Thorin’s hand. ‘Granddad’s got hot tea, so be careful!’  
‘Okay Daddy!’ Frerin replied, sitting cross-legged on the floor beside Thorin and gathering Kili’s pillow around him.  
‘Morning Frerin!’ Thorin smiled, putting his tea down and ruffling his wayward hair as Frerin beamed up at him.   
‘I saw you two had a good night’s sleep!’ Kili smiled, sipping his own tea. Thorin snorted, shaking his head.  
‘Little tyke refused to go to bed till I came in and read him a story, and then he wanted me to get in the bed…I had to go back to your bed this morning, my leg was aching too much!’  
‘You forgot to kiss Mr Chips goodnight granddad!’ Frerin said, looking up at him.  
‘Oh no! Poor Mr Chips- I’ll have to give him two kisses tonight then, won’t I?’ Thorin grinned, looking to Kili- Kili smiled, shaking his head.  
‘Right- breakfast!’ he said, before bustling back into the kitchen to make three rounds of eggs and bacon.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

‘Can we go?’  
‘I think it might hurt Granddad’s leg if we walk all that way…’  
‘But I want to go!’  
‘Frerin…’  
‘Please Daddy! You want to see it, don’t you Granddad?’   
‘Umm…’  
‘Please!!’ Frerin shrieked, voice high as he looked from one adult to the other. Kili looked at Thorin, and his Dad looked back-  
‘Is it very far?’ Thorin asked, flexing his fingers as they held his crutches.  
‘Not very far, but I guess if we go slow…’  
‘I’m not past it yet, Kili- I can make it to the bloody duck pond!’ Thorin said, smiling down at Frerin. ‘Have we got any bread to feed the ducks?’  
Frerin looked to Kili, who sighed and opened up the bread bin. ‘Here you are…’ he muttered, separating six slices from the loaf and putting them in a plastic bag, before handing it to Frerin; he had been going through more bread than he cared to calculate, since Frerin wanted to go to the pond every other day.  
‘Right, let’s get your coat on- it looks chilly outside!’ he smiled down at him, ruffling his hair. The little boy whooped and ran to get his coat, causing Thorin and Kili to laugh after him, shaking their heads.  
‘He loves the duck pond,’ Kili said fondly, grabbing his own coat.  
‘Well you always loved nature too, so I’m not surprised.’ Thorin replied, smiling over at him. ‘I just hope it’s not too far away- sleeping on that bed really did make my leg ache!’  
‘Nah, its not far- its just up a huge hill!’ Kili teased, picking up the bag of bread that Frerin had dropped onto the floor in his excitement. Thorin snorted, until they both turned as Kili’s phone pinged with a text. Kili felt his heart sink, and his worst fears were confirmed as he read the message. Katie.  
‘Your friend?’ Thorin asked, adjusting the collar on his coat by the door.  
‘Uhh, yeah….its nothing.’ He quickly said, flicking the screen off and tucking it away, smiling over at his father.   
‘Are you alright?’ he asked, cocking his head at him. ‘You’ve gone white as a sheet.’  
‘Oh,’ Kili said, smiling and running a hand down his face. ‘I probably had too many last night- I feel a bit sick actually.’ He said, not altogether lying.  
Thorin pretended to tut at him, shaking his head. They turned back as Frerin came bounding over to them, coat buttons askew in his excitement.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After a lot of slow walking so Thorin could keep up, they finally made it to the duck pond- Kili let Frerin take hold of the bag as Thorin sat heavily into the bench, wincing at the spasms in his leg. ‘Remember not to go too near the edge!’ he warned him, before Frerin nodded and walked slowly to the water, and the awaiting Mallards.  
Kili grinned as he turned back, walking up to the bench and sitting next to his dad. ‘Alright?’ he asked, nodding down at his leg.  
‘Yeah, I’ll live.’ Thorin replied, before fishing out his packet of cigarettes from his jacket pocket. He saw Kili’s look and shrugged, eyes wide. ‘Just one?’ he said. Kili relented slightly, knowing how much effort it had taken for his dad to walk here- he didn’t like people smoking near Frerin.  
He quirked an eyebrow as his dad lit up, inhaling the smoke before letting it out slowly, eyes closed. ‘Just one.’ He agreed, before they both sat back to watch Frerin play.  
The comfortable silence that filled the air was soon interrupted however by the sounds of his phone- he should’ve put it on silent. ‘I wish she’d just leave me alone…!’ he whispered angrily to himself as he pressed the off switch, but of course he hadn’t said it quietly enough…  
‘She?’ Thorin’s tone was sharp, icy. ‘Who? Katie?’  
‘Dad, I-‘  
‘Is she the one who texted you this morning?’  
‘I di-‘  
‘She was, wasn’t she?’  
‘…yeah.’  
‘Damn it Kili! I asked you if it was her! Why didn’t you tell me?’  
‘I didn’t want to worry you, or make you angry.’ Kili admitted, head bowed. He knew he should have told his Dad already, but he had told him he was coping, that he was able to manage….  
‘Oh Kili,’ Thorin’s voice had softened, and he placed a hand on his shoulder. ‘The only thing to make me angry is you keeping things like this from me.’ He said quietly, shaking his head a little. ‘What has she said?’  
‘I haven’t answered any of the calls, so I wouldn’t know- the text was her demanding to see Frerin and that she’ll get to see him no matter what I say.’ Kili muttered, acutely aware that the boy in question wasn’t far away- he didn’t want him to overhear anything.  
Thorin sighed angrily, taking another drag from his cigarette. ‘She’s bluffing; she needs the permission of the court to see him, doesn’t she?’  
‘That order expired six months ago, but the only way she’s going to see him is if I say so…and I’m not going to.’ Kili said resolutely, looking over at his son.  
Frerin had thrown the biggest lump of bread onto the water, and now three ducks and a swan were fighting over it, splashing and making lots of noise- he looked back at his dad and granddad, a giggle on his lips.   
‘Does he remember anything?’ Thorin asked quietly after they both gave him a wave.  
Kili shrugged, shaking his head. ‘I don’t know- he gets nightmares sometimes, screaming in the night. When I ask him about it the next morning he doesn’t realise he’s done it. I’ve never asked him, to be honest.’  
‘Hmm.’ Thorin said, sitting backwards on the seat.  
‘He talks about her sometimes, he did when we were at an indoor play area. He was making a family picture and asked whether he should include his mum, as he didn’t.’ Kili continued.  
‘What did you say?’  
‘I said he didn’t have to.’   
Thorin nodded at his side, taking another drag. ‘He’s only young, he might not remember anything.’  
‘I hope not.’ Kili said, supressing a shudder. ‘I wish I couldn’t.’  
‘Try not to think about it- I know its hard, but it’ll get better.’ His Dad said, putting a hand on his shoulder and squeezing lightly. Suddenly a small scream echoed around the pond- they both looked to Frerin to see the little boy racing towards them with a terrified look on his face, an angry swan following close behind.  
‘Daddy!’ he screamed, almost tripping on the wet mulch.  
‘It’s alright Frerin, it’s alright!’ Kili called, standing up and dashing towards him, arms out and waving at the swan- Frerin ran behind him, cowering behind his legs as the white bird flexed its wings at Kili, hissing. ‘Get out of it!’ he growled, waving his arms at it before taking a large step forward, chasing it down a little.

‘Its coming back!’ Thorin called from the bench, hiding a smile behind his fingers.  
‘Not helping!’ Kili called back, looking down at Frerin as he fisted his hands into his jeans as the swan darted forwards again. Thankfully, after a few minutes of strong waving and backing away, the bird retreated back to the water, leaving Kili with a shaking little boy.  
He picked Frerin up and walked back to the bench, rubbing his back as Thorin stood up, recognising that it was time they left.  
‘Silly bird,’ Kili said reassuringly. Frerin shook his head and buried his face in his neck, and Kili could feel the wetness of tears on his skin.  
He looked across at Thorin as they slowly made their way back up the path to the main road- his dad rubbed Frerin’s back too with a free hand, mouth turned downwards in sympathy.  
‘Its ok, lad- the swan’s gone now, you can look.’ He said, wiping sweaty hair from Frerin’s forehead before rearranging his crutches with a wince.  
‘Will it come back?’ Frerin asked, looking with wide eyes behind Kili’s shoulder, at the now peaceful swan swimming back and forth.  
‘No, sweetheart, it’s gone,’ Kili muttered, kissing his temple as he put him back down on the ground, where Frerin promptly took his hand. ‘It’s not coming back.’  
‘Good.’   
‘Yeah.’ Kili replied, before smiling down at him. ‘You were very nearly a swan’s dinner!’ he teased, swinging his hand as they walked along- Frerin looked up and gave him a look, causing him to snort.  
‘C’mon, we’ve got more films to watch at home, and your Dad’s promised to get fish and chips for dinner!’ Thorin smiled from beside Kili, grinning across at Frerin. Frerin whooped with delight- Kili knew fish and chips was his very favourite takeaway dinner. The route back was filled with happy chatter as the three of them slowly made their way home.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

‘Right, so that’s two adult fish and chips, extra mushy peas, and a child’s box meal…’ Kili muttered to himself as he listed off his “orders” for the food in his head. He crossed the road, pulling his coat tighter around him as he walked towards the chippie.   
After Frerin’s little adventure at the pond he had given him a bath and tucked him in on the sofa with Thorin again, the lad still a little afraid the swan had followed them home and was going to beat down the door with his beak.  
He opened the door with a tinkle of a bell and ordered the food before walking back outside as it was cooking- he looked across the mildly busy street, eyes searching the crowds.   
He was hoping to catch Fili in the crowd, wanting to talk to him about Katie, about the swan, about anything really…he shook his head, snorting to himself- he missed him, he realised. It was weird and absurd, but it was true- he had never missed any of his friends when he wasn’t with them, not even when he best friend from primary school emigrated to New Zealand; it just wasn’t like him to really miss someone a great deal when they weren’t there.  
It was an odd feeling, missing someone this much, but he kind of liked the warm feeling he got when he saw Fili- familiarity, he supposed.   
He gave a start when he heard harsh rapping on the glass window behind him- he turned to see the man from the chippie banging his knuckles on the window, brandishing his bag of food. Smiling, he held a hand up, and walked back into the shop to pay for his food. He chuckled to himself as he walked out, shaking his head at himself, the worries of the day pushed from his mind as he walked home…tomorrow would be a better day, he told himself. It always was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Please comment!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Thorin has to go home, Frerin gets a new friend, and an invitation is given....

The next morning was the last day of Thorin’s stay, and even Kili had to admit that it had come around too quickly. His dad was the patron of the local parish council in Berriston- a role he was, in his own words, “coerced and forced into” against his will, but a role he had been dutifully serving for the past three years. There was a meeting later in the day, so Thorin had to leave in the morning in order to get back in time…not that that made any sort of difference to Frerin.  
Once the little boy saw his Granddad’s open bags on Kili’s bed with his clothes neatly folded, he’d rushed into the living room and flung his arms around Thorin’s legs, shaking his head. ‘Don’t go!’ he pleaded with him, brown orbs going from Kili to Thorin, already wet with tears.

‘Come on, lad- I’ll be back soon!’ Thorin said, trying to lessen the tightness of the hold for fear of overbalancing, even with his crutches.  
‘No! Stay with me forever!’ Frerin retorted, bottom lip sticking out as he stepped back a little, clutching onto his Granddad’s free hand.  
‘You know I can’t…’ Thorin said, looking to Kili for backup. Kili bent down, rubbing Frerin’s shoulder as his eyes welled up even more.  
‘You know what’s coming up soon?’ he asked him, smiling.  
‘No,’ Frerin said, a frown on his face now. ‘What, Daddy?’  
‘Oh I don’t know…..I think we’re going to get a visit from someone one night….someone big….and red….and jolly….’ Kili said, chuckling as Frerin’s eyes lit up- he looked from him to Thorin, mouth open in an excited smile.  
‘Santa!!’ he cried, clapping his hands. ‘Christmas!’  
‘That’s right!’ Thorin smiled, ruffling his hair. ‘I’m coming to stay at Christmas, would you like that?’ he asked him, smiling down at him.  
‘Yeah!’ Frerin replied, before burying his head in his jacket as he gave Thorin a big hug.  
‘So you have to let Granddad go home now, otherwise he can’t come here for Christmas!’ Kili reasoned, smiling over at his Dad.

Frerin stepped back, cheeks flushed- he still didn’t look happy at being parted from his Granddad, but he nodded he understood. He clutched hold of Kili’s hand as he picked up one of his dad’s bags and moved it to by the front door.  
The taxi had already been called, and Kili’s heart sank slightly as it pulled up on the street. ‘Dad, taxis here…’ he said, rubbing his neck.  
‘Hey, don’t you start getting all mopey!’ Thorin teased, giving him a hug as he moved forwards on his crutches.  
‘I’m not, I’m not…’ Kili muttered, smiling at him as Thorin released him.  
‘Good- I’ll be back before you know it!’ he said, winking at him. ‘If you need to talk, don’t hesitate to ring me….’ He whispered so Frerin couldn’t hear. ‘Anything at all…’ he finished.  
‘I will,’ Kili nodded, before stepping back as the taxi beeped. ‘Sounds like you better go!’ 

‘Yep, only one last thing left to do….’ He turned and awkwardly squatted next to Frerin, face pinched a little in pain as he held out his arms. ‘Come give your granddad a big cuddle!’ he smiled, chuckling as Frerin positively threw himself into his arms. They stayed like that for a while, neither really wanting to let go of the other, before the taxi beeped once more, more urgently this time.  
‘Right,’ Thorin said as he eased himself back up, surreptitiously wiping his eyes. ‘I better go.’  
‘Yeah- take care Dad.’ Kili said, giving him a last hug before opening the door for him and carrying the bags down to the taxi. Frerin stayed by the door, waving at Thorin, as Kili loaded his bags into the boot as Thorin stood by the door, ready to get in.

After one final hug, Thorin gave Frerin a last wave as he folded himself back into the taxi and shut the door, putting his crutches in the back seat.  
Kili waggled his fingers at him through the glass, stepping back as it moved off. Soon it was out of sight, and as Kili stood next to Frerin and watched it move off into the distance, he held out his hand.  
‘Well…’ he said to the little boy as silence fell on the street. ‘What are we going to do now?’

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Two hours later, the two of them were stood in a brightly lit pet shop, staring into a section of glass fronted cages. Frerin stood on tiptoes, his nose almost pressed up against the glass as he watched the rats and hamsters scamper around in the sawdust, clutching Kili’s hands so he wouldn’t overbalance.

‘Can I have that one, Daddy?’ he asked, pointing across at a pure black rat, smiling.  
‘Are you sure you wouldn’t prefer a hamster, or a rabbit? Kili asked, wrinkling his nose slightly- he didn’t mind rats; he’d had two himself when he was younger, but he would have liked it more if Frerin had picked out a nice, simple hamster or something.

‘No, they look funny…’ came his reply, brown eyes pleading as Frerin turned to him.  
‘Alright…’ he relented, ruffling his hair before they went to find a worker. After Thorin had gone, Kili had come to the conclusion that Frerin needed a pet; something to teach him to look after another living thing, and because he’d seen how much he liked animals. Plus he noticed how he had been quite quiet in the evenings, always watching television or sitting on the sofa as Kili had read a book to him- it would be good for him to have a friend to play with.  
Soon they were back at the cage, one of the shop workers in tow- he carefully opened the glass front and gently lifted the rat in his palms.

After quickly stowing him in a cardboard box lined with straw, he handed it to Frerin, who handled it like it was the Crown Jewels, his eyes wide as saucers as he carefully put it on the floor.  
‘Do you want me to carry him while we go and find a cage and the other things?’ Kili asked after thanking the man. Frerin looked up at him, unsure- suddenly, a scuttling noise came through the box; grinning, Frerin knelt down and pressed his ear to the cardboard, ‘I can hear him Daddy?’ he whispered urgently, gently holding the box as the rat moved around inside it.  
‘Yeah? That’s good!’ Kili smiled, before he looked in the direction of the food, cages and other things that they’d need to buy as well.

‘So…’ he said as he gently picked up the box, Frerin darting to his other side to hold his hand as they walked. ‘What are you going to name him?’  
Frerin looked up at him, face scrunched in thought. Suddenly his eyes widened as he had a brainwave- ‘Norman!’ he squealed.  
‘..Norman?’ Kili repeated, almost snorting but managing to hold himself as Frerin nodded seriously. ‘Yeah, like on Fireman Sam!’ he explained.  
‘Oh, right- good idea!’ Kili said, smiling down at the box. ‘Norman it is, then.’ 

After buying all the supplies they needed- which took two trips to the car to load it all in- they were just walking back out of the shop when they met two familiar figures walking towards them. Fili smiled as Molly immediately let go of his hand and raced to Frerin and Kili, hugging Kili’s leg before beaming across at Frerin. ‘What’s in the box?’ she breathed as her gaze fell on the box Kili still had in his hand.  
‘Norman!’ Frerin smiled, taking her hand and pulling her closer to it- Kili gently opened the box as Fili came closer, before they all peered down into the box.  
Kili jumped slightly as Fili suddenly stiffened beside him and stepped backwards, shaking his head. He glanced a look at Molly, who hadn’t noticed, before he eyes settled on Kili. ‘Not a fan?’ Kili whispered, noticing how pale he’d gone in the space of thirty seconds.  
‘Not really, no.’ Fili said, a strained smile on his face as Molly grinned up at him. ‘Lovely, isn’t it?’ he said, swallowing as she looked back down, nodding.

‘Lets go put Norman in the car, shall we?’ Kili said, watching Fili almost sag with relief as he moved the scurrying rat away.  
‘Can I come?’ Molly asked.  
‘What, to the car?’ Kili replied, looking over at Fili.  
‘Yeah, can we strap him in?’ she replied as Frerin smiled behind her.  
Fili shrugged and nodded his agreement. ‘I’ll be two minutes, ok?’ he told Kili, who nodded. ‘I’ve just got to buy some fish food and I’ll be back out!’ he promised, before darting into the shop.  
Kili smiled after him, before walking with the two children to his car. ‘Right, lets make sure Norman is nice and safe…’ he said, gently putting the box on the seat and doing up the seatbelt across it to make sure it didn’t fall down. The incessant scrabbling of little claws sounded from inside the box, making Frerin and Molly giggle.

A shadow fell on the box as he straightened up, and he turned to see Fili standing behind him, little box of fish flakes in his palm.  
‘Feeling better?’ he teased, a smile on his lips as Fili turned a little pink.  
‘I hate them, I really do…’ he said, shaking his head.  
‘How come?’  
‘Well, when I was younger I went camping with my family- in the middle of the night I woke up to see a dirty great rat sitting on my chest, and another inside my sleeping bag!’  
‘Wow, I’m not surpised then!’ Kili conceded, shuddering at the thought. ‘How old were you?’  
‘Ten.’ Fili replied, shivering. ‘Haven’t been able to go near one since…’

As they stood up Frerin buckled himself in beside the box, and Molly did the same, smiling at the two adults as they looked in on them.  
‘Er, Molly- come on, I’m sure Kili and Frerin are really busy!’ Fili said, rolling his eyes to Kili fondly.  
‘I want to watch as they put him in his cage, Daddy,’ she replied, voice high. ‘Please can I go and see?’  
‘It’s not my decision, sweetheart- You’ve got to ask Kili, not me.’ he said, turning to Kili. ‘You don’t have to agree just because she asked,’ he said, looking apologetic. ‘You can say no.’ He added, smiling.  
Kili looked down at Frerin, who was already chattering away to Norman, occasionally talking to Molly as she leaned over too.  
‘Why not? You can come and play with Norman as well! He grinned, poking Fili’s shoulder as Fili snorted, shaking his head.  
‘Alright- Molly, do you want to come in my car, or stay in Kili’s?’ he asked.  
‘Stay here!’ came his reply.  
‘Is that alright?’ he asked Kili as the other man put on his seatbelt in the driver’s seat.   
‘Fine by me.’  
‘Cool- I’ll follow you in my car…’ he muttered, before tapping the door and shutting it, waggling his fingers at them all before walking off in the direction of his own car.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

‘How do you take your coffee?’ Kili asked, glancing over at Fili who was sitting at the wooden table, flicking through a newspaper.  
‘White, no sugar, and not very strong.’ He replied, smiling over at him.  
‘Wow, Mr Picky…’ Kili teased, dumping his teabag in the bin before bringing over their drinks. ‘Does Molly like orange juice? I hardly buy any other type,’ he asked.  
‘Yeah,’ Fili said after taking a gulp of his own drink. ‘She’ll drink anything.’ He grinned.  
Kili nodded and went back into the kitchen to fill up the plastic glasses. ‘This is great, by the way…’ Fili said from behind him, motioning his coffee.  
Kili bowed low with a flourish, grinning. ‘I aim to serve,’ he replied, before pouring the juice and walking back round with them.

‘I’ll just give these to them…’ he muttered, walking into Frerin’s room as they played with Norman- after they had all come in, it had been a battle of straw and torn up newspaper as they attempted to get Norman settled.   
A scratched arm for Molly ended in tears, so by the end Kili had been the one to put Norman in his cage as Fili dealt with the injury and Frerin ran around making sure everyone was alright.   
Thankfully the little incident hadn’t put Molly off rats for life, and she was soon cooing over him and petting him alongside Frerin, who had fallen in love with his new friend. 

Fili had kept his distance, occupying himself with tidying Kili’s book pile and rearranging the magazines on his table before Kili had walked in on him, laughing.   
As Kili walked back from his delivery he found Fili standing up, looking at a picture frame on his wall, sipping his coffee. ‘Is that Frerin’s mum?’ he asked, pointing at one of the only pictures of the three of them together, at a day out at the beach.  
‘Yeah,’ Kili said, drinking his tea and standing next to him. ‘I thought I better keep at least one picture up, just so Frerin doesn’t forget about her entirely.’ He added, somewhat bitterly, he realised. ‘It would be better if he does, though…’ he said, shrugging.

He looked at the raven haired woman in the picture, blood red lipstick a stark contrast against the ice blue eyes that had attracted him in the first place. Her perfectly manicured nails, painted red to match, shone bright as she held Frerin tightly as the wind blew her hair around. He figured that this was about one of the only good days out they’d shared since he had been born.  
‘Do you miss her?’ Fili asked in a quiet voice.  
‘I don’t know….sometimes, I guess….’ Kili replied in an equally quiet voice.  
‘Not her now though- the person she was, before she started taking drugs.’ He added, sighing.  
‘Yeah, I understand,’ Fili nodded, before drinking down the rest of his coffee.   
‘Never mind, eh- you’ve lasted this long without her.’ He said, smiling over at him and giving him a one armed hug. Kili felt electrified as they touched, so much so he felt his face redden. He stepped back a little, eyes darting to Fili, but the other man either hadn’t noticed, or was pretending not to.  
‘I, uh- should check on the kids,’ he said, walking backwards before crossing the room, his heart beating like he’d just run a marathon.

As he came back he saw Fili putting on his coat and reaching for Molly’s.   
‘Going?’ he asked, internally cursing as his voice came out more high-pitched than he’d liked.

‘Yeah, we’ve got movie night tonight and I’m cooking a spag bol- oh, while I remember….’ Fili muttered, taking a slip of paper out of his pocket and a pen. He scrawled something on it before handing it to Kili.  
‘Its Molly’s birthday tomorrow, and I’m throwing a part- nothing too grand, just a few kids and some cake….’ He said, smiling over at Kili. ‘It’d be nice if you two could come- Molly loves playing with Frerin, and me and you, we could….talk, I guess.’ He finished, red patches appearing on his cheeks.  
‘Sounds great!’ Kili said, mentally jotting down the need to go out again and buying a present and a card.  
‘Great…well, see you there!’  
‘You will do- it’d be nice for Frerin to play with kids his own age.’  
‘Exactly! Right…ready for this?’ Fili muttered, before taking a deep breath as Kili looked on, puzzled. 

‘Molly! Come on, we’ve got to go home!’ he called, before they both waited for the explosion. Seconds later, however, Molly came bounding towards them, followed by Frerin, who was clutching Norman gently to his chest.  
‘Ready, Daddy.’ She said, smiling at the two of them as Fili passed her her coat.  
‘Good girl, coming when I said!’ he smiled, hugging her tightly. ‘Are you alright?’ he added, just to make sure.  
‘Yeah, I’m fine Daddy.’ She giggled, before holding on to his hand as they walked to the door.   
‘Good, well, come on then- lets go home, and then it’ll be closer to your party! And guess what…Frerin and Kili are coming!’ he added, laughing as Molly whooped in delight and hugged both Kili and Frerin.

‘See you tomorrow!’ Kili said, waving them goodbye as they walked off down the road. He looked down at Frerin, and at Norman nestled snugly in his palms.  
‘Right, we’ve got to go the shops!’ he said, ruffling his son’s hair as he shut the door with a snap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, please comment!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kili plays pass the parcel, Fili cooks up a cunning plan regarding an umbrella, and Frerin gets Molly the best birthday present ever....

'Right....' Kili muttered as he looked across rows of girls toys on the shelf, all pink and sparkly. He looked across at Frerin, spotting him gazing at a row of dinosaur toys to his left. He sighed, a hand on his hip as he considered his choices. 'I don't even know what she likes...' He whispered, biting at his bottom lip as he scanned the boxes of dolls, white cars and ponies. Maybe she didn't like pink things? Maybe she was more into toy cars, or dinosaurs like Frerin?

'Hey, Frerin- do you know what toys Molly likes?' He called to his son, conscious of the time; it was nearly dinner time and he hadn't a clue what they were going to have. Frerin came up beside him, shaking his head. 'What about a rat, like Norman?' He asked, looking up at Kili with wide eyes.  
'No, that's something her Daddy would buy her, not us.' He replied, knowing full well that that was a gift Fili would never buy his daughter.

'How about a doll?' He suggested, looking down at Frerin. 'Or a puzzle?'  
'She liked playing with my toy cars at our house,' Frerin said, 'and she liked playing with my t-Rex!'  
'Right....T-Rexs and toy cars....' Kili muttered, still unsure. He picked up a Barbie, hopeful that at least this choice couldn't be wrong...girls liked Barbies, didn't they? He turned to his left, scooping up a toy dinosaur as well, all teeth and scales. 'Which one do you think she'd prefer?' He asked Frerin, very conscious that he was putting him on the spot.  
'Ummm....both?'  
'I don't have enough money for both, though- we have to pick one.' Kili replied, smiling down at him.  
'Oh....ummm.....I think she'd like the dinosaur?'  
'Sure?' Kili replied, more for his own peace of mind more than anything else.  
'Yeah! She wanted to take home my one, but I told her no.'  
'Well ok, now she'll have her own dinosaur to play with!' Kili smiled, ruffling Frerin's hair as they finally walked up to the counter. 

After picking up some wrapping paper and a card, they finally made it home, a box of cheesy pizza tucked under Kili's arm. It was quite late by the time that Frerin got to bed, and after wrestling for a while with the Sellotape and wrapping paper (complete with a paper cut) Kili finally crawled into bed around 11, with everything sorted for the party the next day. 

Xxxxxxxxxxx

'Daddy do I have to wear this?'  
'What's the matter? It's just a tie!'  
'It feels funny...'  
'You were the one who asked me if you could use my tie!' Kili chuckled, stopping to bend down and unhook the tie and take it off from around his neck- Frerin had wanted to look smart for the party, but he guessed that formal wear just wasn't a five year old's thing.  
'Better? He asked as he tied it around his own neck- it was quite an expensive tie, and he didn't want to lose it on the walk home.  
'Yeah, much better!' Frerin replied, catching hold of his hand and walking alongside him as they made their way to the party. As they neared the house, Kili saw that it wouldn't be hard to find the right door- Fili's house was adorned in pink and white balloons, a happy birthday sign across the doorway in blaring purple letters. 

As they got to the door he knocked on the frosted glass, stepping back as a dark shadow appeared on the other side. The door opened to a very flustered looking Fili- his hair was slightly matted down with sweat, and he had bits of cake crumbs stuck on the side of his mouth, as well as a smear of chocolate sauce on his chin. His frazzled expression was soon replaced with a grin as he looked at the people on his doorstep. 'Hey guys!' He beamed, opening the door wider to let them past. 'Wow, Frerin!' He said, ruffling the little boy's hair as he stepped into the light. 'Don't you look smart!'  
Frerin giggled at that, crunching up his eyes at him as Kili nodded. 'Yep, he wanted to wear my tie, but Daddy ended up wearing it instead, didn't he?' He said, patting down the silk tie on his white shirt. 'Well then, Daddy looks smart too!' Fili teased, before a crash from the living room sounded in their ears.

'Oh god, please don't let that be the vase...' Fili begged,crossing his fingers before jogging through the corridor, where Kili could see lights flickering and the sound of children's music could be heard. He held out a hand for Frerin, who had suddenly seemed to become nervous.  
'Come on, let's go give Molly your present and the card.' He said, and the two of the walked into the room.  
It looked like a bomb had gone off in it- there was wrapping paper everywhere, and bits of toy boxes and plastic littered the room, discarded paper cups on the sides and table.  
'Wow...' Kili chuckled, pleased that it wasn't Frerin's birthday for another year yet. Frerin let go of his hand as soon as he spotted Molly, who was surrounded by loud, chattering children. He held out his hands for the present, and Kili watched as he walked towards her.  
The two of them grinned upon seeing each other, and after Frerin gave her the tightly wrapped gift she hugged him and kissed him on the cheek, leaving Frerin to bashfully rub the skin as she ripped open the paper.

'Bless....' Fili muttered beside him, grinning over at the two of them. 'They really get on well with each other, don't they?'  
'Yeah,' Kili nodded, smiling as Molly unveiled the dinosaur, holding it up with a huge smile on her face.  
'Huh,' Fili said, turning to Kili with a warm smile. 'She loves dinosaurs- how'd you know?'  
Kili toyed with answering with a coy "lucky guess" but decided on giving Frerin the credit he deserved. 'Frerin mentioned that she loved playing with his t-Rex, so I thought I'd get something a bit different...' He said, looking over at the pile of dolls and pretend makeup sets that were nestled on the table.  
Fili smiled, nodding. 'Thanks,' he said, blue eyes piercing, 'for coming and all that, I- well, we- appreciate it a lot....'  
'No problem.' Kili smiled, feeling his cheeks warm up again as they finally broke their gaze to look at their children- they were on the floor with the other kids, playing with the t-Rex.

'I don't know why I invited so many kids, it's not like their parents offered to stay and help out or anything...' Fili muttered tersely, motioning the room at large.  
'Well I'm not planning on going anywhere.' Kili smiled, grinning as Fili sighed deeply and patted him on the back, smiling gratefully at him. 'Best news I've had all day! Come on, I'll get you guys some juice...'

Xxxxxx  
The gaudy children's music filled the room as what felt like the hundredth party game started up- this time it was pass the parcel, after a rather unfortunate accident involving stick in the mud and Fili's dining table ended all the more physical games.  
All the children (including Fili and Kili) were sat cross legged on the red carpeted floor, throwing a thickly wrapped parcel at each other as hard as they could as the chirruping sounds of a Justin Beiber single filled the room from Fili's iPod. The two men exchanged tired glances from opposite each other as the parcel was lobbed from one child to another,narrowly missing Frerin's head as the little boy made a grab for it.  
The music stopped, leaving Frerin to tear open the next layer of wrapping paper. His face fell in disappointment as what was revealed was yet another layer of paper, but he passed it on all the same, grinning at his dad as Kili gently passed it to another little girl.

'Maybe you'll get it next time!' Kili smiled, rubbing his shoulder as the music once again stopped, leaving a boisterous looking lad to tear the next layer off.  
Five silences later, and with the middle of the circle of kids close resembling a graveyard for wrapping paper, it was finally a little boy with short red hair that unwrapped the present itself. He held up the bag if Haribo with a jubilant expression on his face, before tucking it into his pocket as the kids around him grumbled and folded their arms.

Fili grinned and stood up, leaving the music on to continue blaring as the kids stood up and headed to the table where the remnants of the food was still sitting. Kili checked his watch as he walked over to a wooden chair and sat down, thankful for the stability that the wood provided to his aching lower back...he was getting too old for this, he mused.  
Fili stepped towards him with a smile on his lips, before beckoning him to the kitchen with a curled finger. Kili followed him, interest piqued...he chuckled as he saw what Fili evidently wanted to help him with, 'I didn't know Molly was getting married today!' He grinned, motioning the two tiered chocolate cake that Fili was already busy sticking candles into on the table.  
'Shh,' Fili grinned, sticking his tongue out at him. 'I thought I'd get something other than the normal princess cake...but this was damn near twice the price of one of those!'  
'I'm not surprised!' Kili grinned, before he looked round for a lighter or matches to start lighting them up.

'Back pocket.' Fili muttered as he bent over the cake, candles hooked into his mouth and both hands full of the bright pink sticks.  
'Huh?' Kili muttered, before giving Fili's backside a proper look- nestled in the pocket was what looked like the outline of a lighter. 'Oh, right....' He muttered, before coming up behind him and arching his fingers inside, hooking out the lighter as Fili stood up straighter to give him more room.  
'Cheers,' he muttered, handing him the lighter as Fili stood up, proudly motioning the cake. 'Looks great!' He smiled, heart skipping a beat as Fili's face lit up with glee, blue eyes shining with pride. 'We should get back out there before they wreck the place...' He said, stepping backwards as a child's yell reverberated through the room, followed by raucous laughter.  
'As if on bloody que....' Fili snorted, before nodding and turning back to the cake, 'could you just open the door for me- hopefully I can carry this without burning all my hair off!' He chuckled, bracing himself as he picked up the flaming cake.

'You do know that you're only supposed to put as many candles on the cake that the person's age is?' Kili teased as he held the door open as Fili passed.  
'Yes, thank you!' He shot back playfully. 'Molly would have one cake with nothing on it if I just put on five!'  
He carefully carried the cake into the doorway of the living room, leaving Kili with just enough space to switch off the lights, plunging the kids into darkness.  
'Happy birthday to you....' The two of them started to sing, walking into the room with all the kids standing still, smiles dawning on their faces as the cake was brought in.  
They all started singing as Fili carried it to the table, smiling down at Molly as she appeared at his side. He smoothed down her hair as she soaked up the attention, grinning from ear to ear.  
'Happy Birthday, dear Molly......happy birthday to you!' Everyone finished, cheering as the little girl blew out the candles. 'Right- who wants a piece of cake!' Fili shouted into the clapping, grinning as each child raised their hands.

Xxxxx

'Well, that couldn't of gone any better...' Fili muttered tiredly, wiping a hand down his face in the soft light of the living room. Kili nodded from beside him, equally as tired, before lifting his coffee mug to his lips. The rest of the children had left over an hour ago, leaving just Frerin and Kili behind. The two of them watched him and Molly play with her toys on the living room carpet.  
'They play so well together,' Kili smiled fondly. 'Its nice to have someone that Frerin can play with whenever he wants.'  
'Yeah, it is nice.' He turned to the window, his smile turning into a grimace. 'Thats not, though...' He muttered. Kili turned quizzically towards him, heart sinking slightly as he saw the rain hammering onto the window. 'Great...' He muttered, before sitting up and stretching. 'We better be getting off then and try to get home before it gets worse.'  
'You can stay here if you like? I've got a spare room?' Fili offered, turning towards him. Kili looked across at him, considering. Fili was far too close, he mused, feeling his cheeks burn as Fili didn't look away.  
Those blue eyes seemed to just peer into his soul, and it made him feel a little...stifled, suffocated. His heart hammered in his chest, and he felt adrenaline surging as he looked down, at the curve of Fili's lips, the contours of his chin...

'Better not,' he settled for saying, licking his dry lips and finally turning away. 'Frerin doesn't like sleeping in stranger's houses.'  
'Oh, ok...fine, whatever you want,' Fili shrugged, also looking away with red on his cheeks. 'Just thought it'd be better than you two walking home in the rain....' He finished, drinking the last of his tea before standing up. 'Done with that?' He asked, motioning Kili's mug.  
'Yeah...thanks.' He replied, passing it over as Fili said nothing and walked to the kitchen.  
He put his head in his hands for a moment, a sick, but pleasant feeling in his stomach. Now he understood all these feelings that had been whirling all this time, ever since he'd met Fili in the cafe. All the feelings he passed up as tiredness, or feelings of protection and even sickness....

'You sure I can't tempt you to stay?' Fili's voice made him jump.  
'No...no that's ok, I dont want to trouble you and Molly, not on her birthday.' He said, all the while his heart screaming at him to accept. Fili shrugged, smiling over at him nonetheless.  
'Ok, maybe another time? We can arrange a sleepover or something?'  
'Yeah, sounds good,' Kili replied, before turning back and calling for Frerin to start getting ready to go home.  
He turned back to see Fili standing in front of him,two mounds of wrapped up cake in his hands. 'We won't be able to eat it all!' He smiled, pressing them into Kili's hands, his fingers lingering on his skin. 'Thanks for coming, and for staying....means a lot.' He said, eyes warm.  
'Anytime.' Kili replied, moving his hands slowly backwards, letting Fili's hands fall to his sides. 'I enjoyed myself, and I'm pretty sure Frerin did too.'  
'Good.' Fili smiled, beaming down at Kili's side as Frerin and Molly appeared there, the former all coated up, ready to go home.

'Well,thanks for coming, Frerin!' He grinned, ruffling his hair again. 'Say thank you to Frerin, Molly!' He smiled, both men grinning as Molly wrapped her arms around Frerin and hugged him tight. 'Bless..' Kili whispered before smoothing down Frerin's hair. 'Right, you- home!' He smiled.  
Fili opened the door, nose turned up at the rain, but he knew there was little point trying to convince Kili to stay. 'Hope you don't get too wet!' He joked instead, before darting back into the house and coming back with a black golfing umbrella. 'Here you go!' He grinned, handing it to Kili, who gratefully accepted.  
'Cheers!' He smiled, their eyes meeting before both looked away, 'Well, see you guys later!' He finally said, and together he and Frerin made their way down the garden path huddled into the umbrella.  
'Bye!' Fili and Molly called, before he shut the door with a snap after making sure they had gone round the corner.

Molly darted back into the living room, leaving Fili to walk slowly to the kitchen with a soft smile on his face, Kili's slightly scared, rabbit -caught -in -the- headlights expression imprinted in his mind's eye. He knew exactly how he felt....  
He busied himself with the kettle with one thought in his mind and a wolfish smile on his lips....Kili would be back soon to give the umbrella back...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, please comment!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, please comment!


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